HARRISBURG, PA – On Friday, October 18, Harrisburg University of Science and Technology (HU) hosted area high school students for the first Advanced Manufacturing (ADMA) Day. ADMA Day was built to spark imaginations and encourage aspirational students from the area to explore diverse career options in advanced manufacturing and robotics. The visiting teachers and students represented Carlisle Area School District, Cedar Cliff High School, Cumberland Perry Area Career & Technical Center (CPA Tech), and Dauphin County Technical School (DC-Tech).

Students were treated to hands-on experiences and up-close demonstrations of some of the most cutting-edge technologies being rolled out today across various manufacturing areas, including:

- Robotics and automation in manufacturing, including collaborative robots, or “cobots”

- 3D printing, from CAD models to final product creation

- Lean manufacturing and real-time product assembly

- Factory automation and design

- AV/VR in manufacturing, including VR headsets in an immersive virtual manufacturing environment

“Our ADMA majors and faculty were excited to provide students with first-hand experiences to see what we have to offer here at HU,” said Dr. Richard Pitts, Jr., Program Lead for Advanced Manufacturing. “We hope they can see why HU should be on the forefront of their college choices, with our cutting-edge curriculum and a four-year BS degree in Advanced Manufacturing. Today they also got a chance to see what equipment and capabilities are available here at HU and how it mimics industry – a clear pipeline all the way through to the jobs they’ll be getting after graduation.”

Professors and current students from HU’s ADMA program shared their personal experiences, explained their ongoing research projects, and demonstrated the technology in HU’s advanced machine labs, smart factory, and computer labs. The senior cohort in HU’s ADMA program even collaborated on some memorable commemorative swag for the visiting students: a “challenge coin” that incorporated HU iconography and challenged the team in unexpected ways from conception all the way to manufacturing and finishing.

“I’m planning my upcoming student project on the efficacy of hybrid manufacturing for high-stress automotive parts,” said Logan Trimmer, a junior-year ADMA student at HU and one of the ADMA Day student assistants. “The question is, can you 3D print metal engine parts for cars? Is it viable for mass production? Traditional manufacturing techniques [casting and forging] have been around for hundreds of years. However, metal 3D printing for commercial usage started around 30 years ago. And having that combined into a machine that can both print and cut at the same time – a hybrid machine – is very unusual. We’re one of only about 10 universities to have the Haas/Meltio hybrid machine, which means HU really stands out. I’m excited to see where the research goes when I dive into it later this year.”

Professor Matthew Rissler, corporate faculty at HU and co-founder of HU’s eXtended Reality (XR) Task Force, walked students through various augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) demos. After only a little hesitation, the students dove in and got to experience literal worlds of possibility.

“There’s so much that you can do in these environments, from climbing the Eiffel Tower, to visiting the Grand Canyon, to Mars, moon bases, and factories – the sky is literally not the limit. There are thousands of items that you can load into the VR space, and it takes us just a few minutes to scan something new into the virtual environment.”

It was easy to see that these experiences were having an impact. AR, VR, 3D printing, and digital simulations are all fun to interact with – but they’re also building engaging careers with almost unlimited future potential as they receive further refinement.

“MedTech, engineering, manufacturing, supply chain – there’s so much. And now there’s 3D scanning, which is super new for architecture, plus computer programming, and then the interplay between the different software,” said Matt Freeman, a teacher at Carlisle Area School District. “This area provides a wide range of options for people to get good careers. This is a cool program, and I think we undoubtedly have more students who would benefit from seeing it.”

Underscoring the stakes and the scale of what these commingling disciplines are capable of, Freeman added, “Some students just need that bit of insight into what they can do with these tools. You can do VR for work and be in a digital environment on Mars. It’s wild for me to even think and say it, but if you’re going to colonize some other place, we need to manufacture just to live there. It’s time to start preparing some people to do that.”

Andrew Moore, a physics and physical science teacher at Cedar Cliff High School, agreed. “To see the kids dive in and actually get hands-on time with each of the tools and technologies is awesome. They’re getting small-group time with the actual professors and experiencing some of what they would get when they come to school here. Students think everybody has to go to school to be an engineer. Not anymore. 40 years ago, 30 years ago, maybe engineering was the way. Now, you can go and do these things – manufacturing for space exploration, robotics, AR, VR – and be extremely successful.”

Evan P. is one of Andrew’s students at Cedar Cliff. “I heard about this from Mr. Moore and our career teacher, Mr. Miller. I’m interested in engineering – specifically, I wanted to see the manufacturing side of engineering, so I came here to get a good overview of the types of technologies involved, to get to know a little more what I want to do.”

Another high schooler from Cedar Cliff, Tim V., found inspiration in the sheer scale of some of the machines on campus. “I was really impressed when LJ [Holmes, Executive Director for HU’s STORMWERX Research Center] mentioned that there’s a huge additive-subtractive machine that can work with metal – it can even manufacture vehicles, which is really cool.”

Andrew A. is a second-year student in the CPA Tech Advanced Manufacturing Technology program. “I’m working on engine lathes, engine mills, a little bit of CNC, learning G-code, M-code, that kind of thing,” Like Tim, he came to ADMA Day at HU to better understand how the unique academia-industrial environment could support his career and personal goals.

ADMA Day was organized by Dr. Richard Pitts, Jr., John Friend, VP for Admissions and Secondary Schools, and Shani Schalles, Associate Director of College-in-the-High-School Development. Harrisburg University thanks the students and teachers who attended ADMA Day, as well as the HU students, staff, and professors who brought the event to life, including Prof. Glenn Williams; Prof. Justin Zigner; Prof. Matthew Rissler; Charles Shearrow, II; Jacob Robinson; Aidan Uray; Logan Trimmer; Kadijatu Johnson; Kyle Williams; Martin Johnson; and Ryan Bosley.

HU is already looking ahead to the next ADMA Day – hope to see you there!

ABOUT HARRISBURG UNIVERSITY

Harrisburg University is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and is a private, nonprofit university offering bachelor's and graduate degree programs in the fields of science, technology, and mathematics. For additional information about the University's affordable, demand-driven undergraduate and graduate programs, please call 717.901.5146 or email Connect@HarrisburgU.edu. Stay updated by following Harrisburg University on X, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.