CCEFP highlights
CCEFP 2008 Annual Meeting held at MSOE
The Center held its 2nd Annual Meeting at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, May 28 – 30, 2008. The agenda included a warm greeting from Hermann Viets, President of MSOE and Tom Bray, Dean of Applied Research. Professor Kim Stelson, Director of the CCEFP welcomed over 165 industry members, faculty, staff and students.
Throughout the two and one-half day meeting all research and education projects were presented. Project presentations were informative and clearly articulated progress to this point and anticipated future work. The audience was also given an opportunity to exchange dialogue with the presenters during the question and answer sessions.
2008 Annual Meeting 32008 Annual Meeting 4Positive critique and inquisitive questions sparked further conversation into the Student Poster Session and Reception, where all students were invited to present their research within the CCEFP. The poster session allowed for more in-depth discussions with individuals on both sides of the show.
A highlight of this year’s meeting was the Industry and Student Dinner Dine–Around. Seven industry members sponsored a dinner for students and industry to mingle together in a light-hearted atmosphere. We would like to thank the following industry members for sponsoring that event: Evonik Rohmax USA, Inc., Eaton Corporation, Gates, HUSCO, Parker Hannifin, RT Dygert and Sauer-Danfoss.
2008 Annual Meeting 52008 Annual Meeting 6Another new program agenda item was a servo-valve coloring book exercise presented by Roz Dolid of MTS. Meeting participants woke early to enjoy bacon and eggs along with a lesson on the fluid flow in a servo-valve. Following the coloring book activity, the meeting resumed with additional research and test bed presentations. Mr. Mike Gust of the CCEFP presented valuable information on intellectual property and the roles of the Center in relationship to its industry members. Prof. Will Durfee presented the Center’s education and outreach initiatives. The Milwaukee School of Engineering kindly hosted a reception at the new Grohmann Museum where attendees were able to view the rooftop sculpture garden that rose high above the building that housed many forms of industrial artwork.
The concluding day of the meeting allowed for advisory boards to meet together in person to share thoughts and have discussions on the Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power. A highly anticipated panel discussion lead by industry representatives on their personal careers paths and guidance for our future fluid power academics and industrial leaders prompted much discussion between the panel and students in the audience. This year’s meeting was very fruitful and sparked more enthusiasm among the CCEFP leadership, students and the Center’s industry members. The Center invited the members of the Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) who serves as an external committee to review and evaluate the Center in its current state. The Center continues to welcome feedback on its strategic direction through the SAB and its industrial partners.
Mark your calendar for the following future dates and locations of Annual CCEFP Conferences:
Fall 2009 Purdue University
Fall 2010 North Carolina A&T
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FIRST Robotics Competition Team
The CCEFP sponsored a team of 20 high school students from the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation community in the midwest regional FIRST Robotics competition held at Williams Arena March 27-29.
FIRST stands for "For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology", and the competition was the first of its kind ever held on the University campus.
The competition started with a 15-second programmed run around the track which each robot made unassisted. Next, the robots earned points by hoisting balls over a ladder in the middle of the track and then crossing a finish line.
After the initial round of robotic competition, alliances were formed between two or three robot groups to create teams. Groups forming the team alliances exchanged and combined strategies to develop the most efficient means of competing with other teams. The team with the most points after the match ended went on to further competition with the top rated alliance traveling to Atlanta next month for the national championships.
The CCEFP sponsored and mentored the anishinaabeg ogichidaag FIRST Robotics Team formed by students from a group of schools near Cloquet, MN. As first-time competitors, they were excited to be part of the event, and they came away from the experience with a greater understanding of how to succeed in future competition.
Click here to read more.
Fluid Power documentary
CCEFP, in conjunction with the National Fluid Power Association and Twin Cities Public Television, has produced a two-part documentary on fluid power. The first 30-minute documentary focuses on an in-depth introduction to fluid power. This documentary is aimed at K-12 children, and a general audience with no knowledge of fluid power. The second documentary, which is also being sponsored in part by several international fluid power societies, emphasizes current research in the field, with the intention of highlighting careers in engineering. The documentary will soon be available on DVD.
Email Stephanie Betterman for more information.
