2022 Breakout Sessions

Will you have a Robot as a future co-worker? Learn how a local aerospace manufacturer is using robotics and automation to speed up the manufacturing process and make it more efficient from start to finish.  Tom Swanberg, Engineer at Acutec Precision Aerospace, will show you the process of recognizing opportunities to problem solve possible solutions using robots and automation in the manufacturing environment!

Tom Swanberg has been a manufacturing engineer at Acutec Precision Aerospace for 7.5 years. His responsibility is to design fixturing and tooling for machining applications as well as assist with secondary processing and robotic integration.  He also supervising the engineering ASCEND program interns each summer.

Kyle Astor has been at Acutec for 13 years and is responsible for managing the manufacturing engineering team. He also is responsible for designing fixturing and tooling for machining applications. Kyle has had several years of experience in Manufacturing prior to his career at Acutec.

Professor Byron Rich will discuss some of the fascinating ways artificial intelligence is being used in manufacturing.

Byron Rich is an artist, professor and lecturer born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. His work exploring speculative design, biology futures and tactical media has been widely shown and spoken about internationally. He pursued a degree in New-Media at The University of Calgary before relocating to Buffalo, New York where he obtained an MFA in Emerging Practices at The University at Buffalo.

3D printing with metals, composite, and ceramic and their applications in different engineering fields will be featured. The presentation will illustrate the various capabilities of the Center for Manufacturing and Technology developed at the Institute of Healthcare and Cyber Knowledge’s (IHACK).  

Dr. Davide Piovesan received his M.S.M.E in 2003 and Ph.D. in Mechanical Measurement for Engineering in 2007 at the University of Padova, Italy.  From 2004 to 2008 he was a visiting scholar and post-doctoral fellow at the Ashton Graybiel Spatial Orientation Lab at Brandeis University. There, he worked on the mechanics of movement adaptation in non-inertial environments as part of a NASA extramural funding program. He joined Northwestern University in 2008, working as a post-doctoral fellow at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago until 2013 in the field of rehabilitation robotics. Dr. Piovesan joined Gannon University in 2013 and is currently a Professor and Associate Dean in the college of engineering and business, and Director of the School of Engineering and Computing. at Gannon University. Davide’s is the founder of the Special Process and Additive Manufacturing (SPAM) laboratory and the Material Science Laboratory at Gannon University.

Connecting  STEM games and STEM activities to future careers in Manufacturing. Take part in quick, fun hands on STEM activities and discover why these skills and interests can lead to a  future career in Mfg. This break out targets a younger 7th-9th grade audience.  

Kelly Astor, IST/Gifted/PCA (Cambridge Springs Elementary, PENNCREST SD)  Kelly Astor has been teaching for over twenty years. She has taught grades K-12.  For the last several years she has been facilitating STEM opportunities for Cambridge Springs Elementary that allow students to work on necessary skills that often are not taught or used in the regular classroom. 

Dr. Ann Noonen is the Director of Educational Technology at Crawford Central School District where she has served as Director of Elementary Curriculum, Technology & Title I.

Join us as we hear the personal success stories from two individuals who have traveled different pathways leading to successful careers in manufacturing. Nick: hired right out of Fairview High School with no interest in pursuing college at the time, he went from shipping and receiving to Project Manager in less than 10 years.  Kyle: from McDowell High School to the University of Akron studying mechanical engineering to a co-op experience at Preformed Line Products - all brought him to a career as a Manufacturing Engineer.

Nick Pfeffer is 27 years of age, and grew up in Fairview, PA. Out of high school, he did not have a specific passion for a career path that constituted going to college.  Nick is our newly promoted Project Manager. He began as shipping/receiving coordinator five years ago and has worked his way up to his current position. He is cross-trained in many areas and is a valuable employee to our company.

Kyle VonKaenel is currently a Manufacturing Engineer at American Turned Products. He grew up in Erie and went to high school at McDowell. After graduating from McDowell he went to the University of Akron studying in mechanical engineering. While he was at Akron he co-oped at Preformed Line Products, a worldwide designer, manufacturer and supplier of high quality cable anchoring and control hardware and systems, fiber optic and copper splice closures, and high-speed cross-connect devices, for 1.5 years.

Deciding on a career path can be challenging and stressful with so many choices. Passions, core values, interests, and aptitudes all play a part in determining one's niche in the world. With a few self-reflection activities, Taylor & Hope would love to help students find their path.  Students of all ages will benefit from this activity and the opportunity to learn from Taylor's and Hope's personal career pathway stories.

Taylor Smith, 24, is a Sales and Marketing Specialist at PSNERGY, a combustion solutions company that provides monitoring and alerting systems for steel, aluminum, and Heat Treating businesses.  At age 17, she moved from small-town USA to New York City where she studied Communication Arts and then grew to find her passions in manufacturing and marketing.

Hope Fiely is a Project Engineer at Channellock Inc.  She earned her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Grove City College in 2021.  While in college, Hope completed an internship at Channellock Inc. which is one of the many experiences that led her to her current position as a Project Engineer.