奥利维亚·斯里布尼亚克和安东尼·吉克

新肯辛顿 EMET students 'steer' idea toward reality

Engineering duo earn finalist spot in 2018 公司.U创业大赛.

宾夕法尼亚州新肯辛顿. – All electro-mechanical engineering technology (EMET) students at Penn State must complete a senior design project as part of graduation requirements. For two EMET students at 免费mg不朽情缘试玩新肯辛顿分校, their project has also turned them into budding entrepreneurs and finalists in a competition for student-led businesses throughout Penn State.

“The past four years in engineering, we’re taught to learn and approach things a certain way,安东尼·吉克说, a senior from West Mifflin and veteran of the U.S. 海军. “现在我们正在做这个工程项目,并将商业带入其中. Business is a whole new realm and way of thinking, and that’s where we’ve had to go down a different path.”

Gyke和他的同学奥利维亚Sribniak, 一个来自Leechburg的大四学生, 从来没有想过他们的设计理念会变成更多的东西. 这个想法, to create and program an automated team roping practice dummy, came from Sribniak’s personal experiences.

斯里布尼亚克说:“我想你可以说,我来自一个牛仔世家.  “我的叔叔们都喜欢用绳子, but I never really was into it until about two or three years ago when they 说 they needed a heeler.”

用非技术语言, 绳赛通常由两名骑手组成, 被称为“头”和“后腰”,” who work together to rope a cow during a timed competition. The header is the first person to rope the cow by its horns. The heeler then ropes the cow’s back legs to stop the clock.

“我正在学习, there were different things that I was picking up on that I thought would be good for a dummy to help us practice,斯里布尼亚克解释道. “我和我的其他家庭成员以及和我一起工作的人谈过,也听取了他们的意见. Once I got a baseline for what I wanted a dummy to do, 我和一个世界冠军团队的跳绳选手讨论了什么可行,什么不可行. After that, I presented it to Anthony.”

Sribniak found that the roping realm is not only expensive, 但效率也很低, especially when practicing for events. When using existing practice dummies, only the header or the heeler can practice individually, 不是在一起, 因为他们必须在竞争中, and dummies currently aren’t automated, which means they cannot simulate the real movement of the steer. 在练习活牛时,动物也会承受额外的压力. These issues are resolved through Gyke and Sribniak’s concept, now formally called Steer Logic.

他们的机器人原型假人将包括三种模式:新手,中级和高级.

这个想法 seemed perfect for the senior design project, which must incorporate electrical and mechanical engineering, 以及自动化. 他们没有意识到,这个想法也是一个完美的商业概念.

“整件事非常独特,乔·库菲说, 新肯辛顿校区EMET的助理教学教授和项目协调员. “That’s the beauty of teaching students to be innovators or entrepreneurs because fun and interesting and potentially even profitable ideas can come from absolutely anywhere. It’s obviously something they’re passionate about, but they also managed to spin that into a great idea. 这是一个利基市场, 他们的方法非常务实,非常像工程师, 但他们也迈出了一小步, 我很高兴他们在探索它.”

The leap and exploration Cuiffi is referring to is Gyke and Sribniak’s video submission 敬今年的 公司.你的竞争. 免费mg不朽情缘试玩的 宾西法尼亚 Technical Assistance 程序 (PennTAP) manages the competition designed specifically for undergraduate students at the University to foster 创业. 现在是第三年了, 学生们提交视频介绍他们的创业想法和企业, 这些作品将由评审团进行评审,并将范围缩小到六名决赛选手.  决赛选手将获得一席之地 WPSU的“投资” television show where they will pitch their ideas aka “Shark Tank” to a panel of judges for a chance to win significant investment funding.

今年,比赛收到了72份参赛作品,是自举办以来最多的一次. Entries also reflected more students and teams from the University’s Commonwealth Campuses like 新肯辛顿. 事实上, 六个决赛选手中的四个, including 新肯辛顿’s Steer Logic team, are from campuses other than University Park.

说到Steer Logic团队, 蒂姆Kerchinski, 他是PennTAP创新团队的领导, 说, “他们非常善于表达, and they have the technical background being electro-mechanical engineering technology students, 他们也有一个原型, 这是巨大的. You can talk about an idea all day long, but when you can actually build it out and you can demonstrate it either through an animation or have an actual, 物理原型, 这是有价值的.”

Students also learn other skills through the competition that will be important for them as they go into the future beyond graduation.

“Presentation skills are extremely important, and this forces students to think about that,克钦斯基说. “很多人都有好主意, but they have to be able to sell that idea through articulating that idea and articulating enthusiasm, passion and where you can take that idea. That will serve them no matter what they do.”

Cuiffi, who has been involved in two start-ups in addition to academia, echoed this sentiment and added the benefit students receive by learning about business principles such as understanding customers.

“你可以建造任何你想要的东西, but if you don’t start immediately focusing on the customer, 你只会徘徊,库菲分享道. “Whether its solving a problem at your company and fixing it properly and actually understanding it or tinkering in your basement to make something that may be a product, you have to think who would buy it first.”

盖克和斯里布尼亚克, 成为企业家为他们的项目增加了不同的学习曲线, so they have been reaching out to professors like Cuiffi, as well as peers and faculty members from other academic fields such as corporate communications and business. 这个过程也向他们展示了校园和大学的第一手支持.

“It’s teaching us a lot about how to get a business started, and it’s showing us as well that there’s other people within Penn State that are there for us,斯里布尼亚克说. “这不仅仅是我们有了一个想法, and we go to Penn State; it’s Penn State wants to help us and help our idea grow.”

学生们也学到了很多关于协作和团队合作的知识, 即使经历失败, which has helped Steer Logic grow and become a reality.

“Between us, it’s a love hate relationship,” joked Gyke. “老实说,你尝试做的前100件事永远不会成功,所以不要过早放弃。”

“I honestly can say that I would not be able to do this project with anyone else,斯里布尼亚克说. “You can’t give up when you hit the first big problem.”

盖克和斯里布尼亚克在五月毕业前的日子里会很忙. 他们将会参加 免费mg不朽情缘试玩的创业周活动 在三月底, film their spot for “The Investment” television show on April 7, 把他们的想法推销给 Penn State Venture and IP Conference 并于4月23日完成最后的高级设计项目. 最重要的是,他们有实习、工作和其他课程.

“我只是希望他们能从这个项目中获得一些宝贵的经验, 不管他们是否采取行动,库菲希望道. “What you learn from it is the important part. 我想他们已经这么做了.”

The opportunities presented to Gyke and Sribniak, as well as many other students and 宾西法尼亚ns, 由免费mg不朽情缘试玩校长. 埃里克·巴伦周刊 创造免费mg不朽情缘试玩 initiative, which launched in 2015 to encourage and foster 创业 across 宾西法尼亚.

免费mg不朽情缘试玩新肯辛顿分校 has been strengthening its foray into 创业 and innovation through its entrepreneurial center, 角落里在新肯辛顿市中心,并促进创业活动,如公司.U. “角落”就是其中之一 21个创新中心 throughout 宾西法尼亚 made possible through 创造免费mg不朽情缘试玩. 包括斯里布尼亚克和吉克在内的学生,以及社区成员,都可以利用 角落Launchbox 编程,共同工作等等都要感谢校园和倡议的支持.

“这是巨大的,”Kerchinski说. “President Barron has just opened up the floodgates for resources for innovators and entrepreneurs at Penn State. 如果你在巴伦校长身边见过学生企业家, 他非常喜欢听到他们的创新和投入的学习经历, and he truly believes that by supporting them we are supporting the economic development mission of the University in the state of 宾西法尼亚.”

Kerchinski继续, “Because of 免费mg不朽情缘试玩的 21 undergraduate campuses--that now have funding for innovation hubs that support entrepreneurs--there’s not any other university in 宾西法尼亚 that can have this kind of impact. It’s great that President Barron has embraced 创业, 鼓励它, and that he’s supporting it financially. 他说话算话.”

至于盖克和斯里布尼亚克, 他们渴望毕业,希望看到Steer Logic的未来.

“We definitely want it to take off,斯里布尼亚克说.

Kerchinski’s expectations for this year’s 公司.你的竞争 have already been exceeded, and he is looking forward to seeing what the future holds for the University and 创造免费mg不朽情缘试玩 as growth keeps building.

“Who doesn’t want to help students become successful, and who doesn’t want to help start businesses that could possibly create jobs in your local communities?克钦斯基问. “我们已经看到了这一点,免费mg不朽情缘试玩的每个人都支持它.”

 

About the 宾西法尼亚 Technical Assistance 程序 (PennTAP)

宾夕法尼亚技术援助计划(PennTAP)是一个联邦政府, 州和大学合作刺激全州经济发展. 自1965年以来, PennTAP has delivered services and solutions to businesses and individuals through two main areas: energy and environmental services and innovation services.

的公司.你的竞争 is part of PennTAP’s innovation services arm and began in 2015 as a pilot program funded through a grant from the 宾西法尼亚 Department of Community and Economic Development. In 2016, the competition became solely a Penn State program managed by PennTAP and has continued thanks to a five-year grant from the U.S. 美国经济发展管理局(USEDA),并与免费mg不朽情缘试玩合作. The USEDA grant is now in its second year and enables PennTAP to deliver its innovation services throughout all 免费mg不朽情缘试玩的 campuses and the Commonwealth. 公司.U是私人资助的.

欲了解更多关于PennTAP的信息,请访问: http://penntap.promisesurfing.net

要了解更多关于公司的信息.U竞赛,请访问: http://penntap.promisesurfing.net/services/university-connection/incu/

To learn more about 创造免费mg不朽情缘试玩, visit: http://invent.promisesurfing.net

To learn more about 角落里, visit: http://newkensington.promisesurfing.net/launchbox