(BLUEFIELD)— Two scholarly papers prepared and submitted by Bluefield State College faculty members have been accepted for presentation at the 118th Annual American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) Conference and Exposition to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on June 26 - 29, 2011.  The conference brings together an assembly of more than 3000 engineering educators, vendors, and publishers. 

One of the papers describes the collaborations with local industry arising from operations of the Center for Applied Research and Technology, Inc. (CART) at Bluefield State College (BSC).  The paper, “"Benefits of Small College-Industry Partnerships for Training Program Development” will be presented by Roy Pruett (Professional Engineer and Professor of Electrical Engineering Technology (ELET)) and was co-authored by Bruce Mutter (CEO/Chair, CART). 

ASEE reviewers commented on the paper that it is a, “wonderful example of collaborative effort and integration with real-world practice and professionals. I like hearing about the Applied Research Assistantship Program (ARAP) and how it has been implemented and received. I perceive this as quite valuable.” 

Another ASEE reviewer added that “the evolving interactions between CART, ARAP, ELET and other program constituencies are well documented and presented in a smooth process flow. While the utilization of an Industrial Advisory Committee (IAC) is neither new nor unique, the ability to use this group to better the community, bring in new industry and enhance student experience is laudable. 

A third reviewer added that “the Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) perspective is right on target with other schools.  These programs increased industry engagement via advisory committees and better maintains currency in the discipline and in the field for students and faculty.”

BSC Assistant Professor, Glen Ciborowski, from the Computer Science department also collaborated with Mutter to author “Using Pen-Based Tablet PC Technology to Improve Instruction in Engineering Economics.” 

The two papers approved for publication this year brings the total to 19 BSC-submitted papers accepted for an ASEE conference and exposition over the past six years.

By CART

Senator Jay Rockefeller visited the Center for Applied Research and Technology, Inc. (CART) at Bluefield State College (BSC) in Bluefield, West Virginia on Saturday, February 26 to lead a roundtable discussion on the importance of robotics for technology-based economic development.  Jamie Gaucher from the West Virginia Development Office co-facilitated the meeting with Bruce Mutter, CART, Inc., CEO.

BSC Electrical Engineering Technology Professor Bob Riggins and his student-led Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition (IGVC) student robotics team briefly demonstrated the capabilities of this year’s IGVC robot called “Archon” to the Senator as he asked questions and talked with the student team.

Following the IGVC team demonstration, Bruce Mutter provided a brief overview of IGVC and Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA) Grand Challenge competition entries over a several year span and CART’s current collaborations with industry involving automation, rapid prototyping, programming, monitoring, scanning, and web applications including work with Fenner Dunlop Americas (F-D) Conveyor Diagnostics in Bluefield, Virginia.

Mark Myers, Director of Systems Software and Scanning Services, Fenner Dunlop Americas, then presented an intelligent belt conveyor monitoring system called Eagle Eye developed at F-D’s Bluefield operations.  Myers discussed the application of the system with the Senator and explained the role of CART and its applied research assistantship program students in support of this technology’s development.

Thomas Evans, Program Manager for the WVU-NASA Robotic Arm Program presented an overview of the Center for the Robotic Servicing of Orbital Space Assets, located at the West Virginia High Tech Consortium in Fairmont, which has been established by WVU as part of a cooperative partnership with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Todd Ensign, a Program Manager of the NASA Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Center, also located in Fairmont, described the value of innovative educator resources for teaching science and mathematics to future robotics engineers.  Christina Moats, from the IV&V Strategic Communications Office explained the program's primary business focus is to support NASA by performing software engineering research, empirically based software measurement, IV&V, and independent assessments for determining software risk and criticality.

Anne Barth, Executive Director for Tech Connect West Virginia and former State Director for Senator Robert C. Byrd, discussed the role of the coalition’s professionals and their dedication to the growth and diversification of the State’s economy through advancing technology-based economic development.

Tom Minnich, Director of Business and Project Development for the Robert C. Byrd Institute of Advanced Flexible Manufacturing, explained that during today’s meeting he had been made aware of the extent and depth of the robotics-related capabilities in Bluefield and thinks that collaborative projects could arise from it.  Ron Basini, CEO of the West Virginia Angel Network added that while he was aware of CART and BSC’s capabilities that we needed to focus investment on these early-stage technology developments that hold the most promise of obtaining a positive economic return.  He also concluded that collaboration was indeed possible and expected as a result of this robotics roundtable.

The Senator asked each Bluefield State student participating in the roundtable if he was getting the background needed to compete in the professions of engineering technology and computers science.  Senior engineering technology and computer science students Matthew Adkins, Robbie Martin, and Mike Sumrall each responded with confidence that they were prepared and excited to begin careers and that real world applied research projects and competitions had greatly helped hone their professional skills.

BSC Electrical Engineering Technology Professor Roy Pruett, thanked the Senator for supporting Math-Counts, a national math coaching and competition program for middle school students and reiterated the importance of developing geometry and algebra skills in sixth, seventh, and eighth graders.  Noting that, if we expected students to later excel in the development of automation technologies and rewarding careers, then we need to do everything we can to reinforce the continual improvement of their math skills during these formative years.

Jack Howard, Owner of Nexus Terra, LLC and developer of spatial positioning systems and remote data collection devices and services agreed with the importance of developing technical skills.  He added that overall it is very important that young students work on real-life projects that connect them with the real world.  He thinks this develops their confidence in solving more complex interdisciplinary projects, such as required for robotics and automation. 

Dr. Robin Ware, BSC Provost and Vice President for Student Affairs thanked Senator Rockefeller for leading the Robotics Roundtable to BSC, and ensured the Senator and the participants that the College would follow up on the initiatives discussed today.

Senator Rockefeller concluded, “I am focused on finding ways to create jobs right here in West Virginia.  In order for our country to maintain its competitive edge, we must make sure that our students and workers have the high-tech training needed for the jobs of today and the jobs of the future.”  The Senator added, “Bluefield State students are learning invaluable skills with CART programs and in the high-tech field of robotics that they can take into the workforce – and as we rebuild our economy and boost our manufacturing sector this is such a great thing.  Just as computers and the Internet have transformed the way we communicate with one another, the field of robotics is transforming the way we make products and deliver services, so it is in West Virginia’s best interest to have the skilled workforce that knows and understands this field.”

(Bluefield)—Two scholarly papers prepared and submitted by the Center for Applied Research, Inc. (CART) at Bluefield State College were accepted and presented at the 38th Annual Conference for Industry and Education Collaboration (CIEC) held in San Antonio, Texas on February 2-4, 2011. The conference is organized by four divisions of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).  The CIEC EXPO features exhibitors from academic organizations, their industrial partners, and over 300 professionals in engineering education. CIEC is a nationally recognized conference focusing on industrial collaboration and engineering education issues for industry, universities and government.  The paper presentations describe results and conclusions obtained from applied research and demonstration projects by CART at BSC.

The paper, “Using Pen-Based Technology to Improve Instruction in Engineering Economics,” was presented by Glen Ciborowski (Assistant Professor, School of Engineering Technology and Computer Science) and Bruce Mutter (CEO/Chair, CART).  Based on the outcome of the applied research in Engineering Economics, Ciborowski noted, “We are now using Tablet PC’s in other courses and recommend this learning environment to our colleagues.  It is encouraging to experiment with new technology as part of the continual improvement process.”

The second presentation, “Benefits of Small College-Industry Partnerships for Training Program Development” was presented by Mutter.  “CART is actively developing a cooperative learning program that will combine BSC classroom learning and laboratories with practical, competitively paid, work experience assignments with our regional industrial partners,” Mutter said.  “Undergraduates participating in our applied research assistantship program (ARAP) would combine semesters of full-time study with half-time cooperative work experience where they earn and learn.” 

An ASEE Engineering Technology Council (ETC) Executive Board Meeting also took place at the conference.  The ETC session was led by the Chair of the council, Frank Hart, Dean, School of Engineering Technology and Computer Science, BSC.   "The purpose of this conference is to foster collaboration between industry and higher education and help transform the education of future engineers and technologists” Hart added. "It is important for our students to find opportunities to put classroom knowledge and laboratory experiences to use in solving real-world problems.  This better prepares them for more advanced coursework and meaningful careers.”

(Bluefield)—A scholarly paper and a poster prepared and submitted by Bluefield State College faculty members were accepted and presented at a recent workshop, “The Impact of Pen-Based Technology on Education,” at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, October 25-26. The workshop attracted educators and companies with an interest in instructional technology. A wide variety of disciplines are embracing Tablet PC's and similar pen-based computing devices as tools for the radical enhancement of teaching and learning. This conference was designed to leverage this interest and to identify best practices in the educational use of pen-based computing so that all educators may benefit from this next generation of technology.  The paper and poster describes results and conclusions obtained from a study of pen-based technology by the Center for Applied Research and Technology, Inc. (CART) at Bluefield State College (BSC).

The paper, “Using Pen-Based Technology to Improve Instruction in Engineering Economics,” was presented by Glen Ciborowski (Assistant Professor, School of Engineering Technology and Computer Science) and Bruce Mutter (CEO/Chair, CART).  Based on the outcome of the applied research in Engineering Economics, Ciborowski noted, “We are now using Tablet PC’s in other courses and recommend this learning environment to our colleagues.  It is encouraging to experiment with new technology as part of the continual improvement process.”

"The workshop provided a good opportunity to learn more about pen-based technology, participate in the sessions, and share results with our colleagues," Mutter added. "Smart pens are rapidly changing our interaction and the practice of mobile computing, bringing real processing power to traditional screens and even pen & paper. Digitizing words and drawings really ‘brings them to life,’ while simultaneously capturing and storing ideas for review.”

(Bluefield)—The Center for Applied Research and Technology (CART), Inc. at Bluefield State College (BSC) has been awarded a $61,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration’s Brookwood-Sago grants program to provide education and training within the mining industry.

The MSHA grant awarded to CART will underwrite the development of a Web-enabled course of instruction to improve conveyor belt safety training.  Established to foster and support applied research at the BSC School of Engineering Technology and Computer Science, CART serves the region of southern West Virginia and southwestern Virginia.  “This proposal builds upon our commitment to support programs that help identify, avoid, and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around mines,” CART Director Bruce Mutter explained. 

CART, Inc. will perform applied research and adapt the latest educational technology and collaborative Web tools to develop web-enabled courses for training 45 trainers specializing in conveyor belt safety.  “CART will provide support services for delivery of these courses from BSC, and at the Bluestone Business and Technology Park in Bluefield, VA,” Mutter said.  “Additionally, CART will demonstrate results at our fifth annual BSC Mine Rescue Competition, the 118th annual ASEE Conference, and at the 2011 Bluefield Coal Show.”

The CART grant was one of six awarded through the Brookwood-Sago grants program, which was established through the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006.  The focus of all 2010 program grants will be on training/training materials for mine emergency preparedness and prevention for all underground mines.

(Bluefield)—The competition was focused and the goal was to hone the life-saving skills of mine rescue crews. Eight mine rescue teams recently participated in the fourth annual Mine Rescue Competition at Bluefield State College. The daylong activity was created and coordinated by the National Mine Rescue Association Welch Post #1 Smoke-eaters and was hosted by the Center for Applied Research & Technology (CART) at Bluefield State College.

Consol Energy’s Buchanan Mine Rescue Black Team placed first in the contest and Consol’s Red Team placed second. Jewell Smokeless Coal’s Red Team was the third place finisher. The other five teams participating included the United Coal Company Pocahontas Mine Rescue Team, the International Coal Group (ICG) Mine Rescue Black Team, Jewell Smokeless Coal’s Blue Team, ICG’s Wolf Run Mine Rescue White Team, and the Southern Pocahontas Mine Rescue Team.

Mine rescue competitions are designed to sharpen skills and test the knowledge of miners who may one day be called upon to respond to a real mine emergency, according to the event’s director, Mike Plumley. Competitions include a written test, and also require teams to address a simulated problem resulting in trapped miners who must be located and rescued. Plumley is a mine inspector for District IV, West Virginia Office of Miners Health Safety and Training who specializes in electrical systems.

 “Competition helps us call attention to the need for the highest standards in mine safety,” Plumley said. “Participants can hone their mine rescue skills, improve communication with other team members, and develop better working relationships with other teams.”

Each team was given a mine rescue scenario, then addressed the challenge by working their way through a course designed to point out conditions faced in an actual mine rescue situation. The field portion of the meet took place at the June Oblinger Shott Baseball Field, adjacent to the staging areas in Dickason Hall on the BSC campus.

“We enjoy having the opportunity to support this event,” noted Bruce Mutter, CART CEO. Assisting the annual Mine Rescue Competition is particularly appropriate because of our school’s commitment to our Mining Engineering Technology program at BSC, industry participation in our robotics-related initiatives, and the fact that so many of our graduates work in the (mining) industry and have been so good about coming back to help us.

 The event’s sponsors included Consol Energy, Cleveland Cliffs Foundation, Heintzmann Corporation, CSE Corporation, Bluefield State College and CART, Inc.

FORT HOOD, Texas--The Center for Applied Research and Technology (CART, Inc.) at Bluefield State College (BSC) joined Preferred Chassis of Tucson, Arizona, soldiers and other civilian contractors at Fort Hood Texas for the recent inaugural Robotics Rodeo.  The event allowed the team to review and interact with a large group of robot systems contractors and to demonstrate how an autonomous Scorpion 4x4 might potentially find a place in the U.S. Army's robotic vehicle lineup.

“Obviously, soldiers do the fighting on the ground, and even with the support of the most intelligent machines, it's going to stay that way,” noted CART CEO Bruce Mutter. ”Still, there is growing need for robots to take over dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs that might free soldiers for other duty, enable a smaller force, or more importantly, help isolate soldiers from improvised explosive devices (IEDs).” In 2001, the Senate defense authorization bill mandated that "one third of the operational ground combat vehicles of the armed forces will be unmanned by 2015."

"The enemy often places IEDs in the same locations that he has used in the past. A robotic system that can observe these locations for a prolonged period of time and alert us of a significant change would be of great value," Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, Fort Hood commander and co-host of the Robotics Rodeo, said.  "There are hundreds of other robotic concepts that could also be useful to our Army and this Robotics Rodeo will showcase some of those--it's a great educational opportunity."

The U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) invited more than 40 vendors to demonstrate their robotic capabilities.

The opportunity to take toughness and technology to another level has served as the foundation for partnership of a pair of entities with seemingly different backgrounds. CART at BSC and Dwaine Jungen, the president of Preferred Chassis Fabrication have combined their talent for innovation with a common goal—developing an autonomous (unmanned) robotic vehicle on a rugged, versatile chassis with the technology to react appropriately to the environmental and terrain challenges encountered in military operations. 

Mutter met Jungen at a DARPA Grand Challenge participants’ conference several years ago in Anaheim, CA.  There, they compared strategies for negotiating an obstacle-strewn desert course and general philosophies regarding vehicle control.  “I had been chasing DARPA for more than a year,” noted Jungen, who has been featured on the syndicated television program “Monster Garage.” “The philosophy of the teams in the 2004 competition didn’t put much emphasis on the platform.”

“When I met Bruce, I found that our approaches were very similar,” Jungen continued. The platform is, in many ways, just as important as the control system, he said. “The platform absorbs and adapts to a wide variety of terrain and environmental challenges. It doesn’t matter how smart the technology onboard the vehicle is, if the vehicle is stopped by the terrain.” Working together over the past five years, Preferred Chassis built the Team Scorpion chassis to respond to CART’s autonomous control software. When we unveiled the `Scorpion-fox’ a few years ago,” Jungen proclaimed, “We had a purpose-built vehicle that was designed specifically for autonomous operation.”

Jungen and Mutter see the considerable mutual benefit from their collaborative approach.  “CART has found a partner so its autonomous technologies can be demonstrated onboard, and in turn, I’ve found a partner to help showcase our engineering and fabrication abilities,” Jungen stated.

Preferred Chassis Fabrication, Inc. builds performance vehicles for street and off-road enthusiasts, construction and utility firms, racing, and rock climbing and creates custom fabrications including tube chassis, custom inverters, and Scorpion MK Series 4x4s.  Petersen’s 4Wheel & Off-Road featured the Scorpion MK I as the best “true multi-functional” 4x4 ever. 

CART, Inc. brings ingenuity to industry and fulfills this mission by producing outstanding results through applied research.  The focus is on innovation, transferring technologies to self-sustaining markets, creating and deploying technology systems and services that become proven examples of CART’s reliability as a business partner to industry.  

CART projects include working with Fenner Dunlop Americas (F-D) to develop a steel-cord conveyor belt design software tool and supporting F-D with its Applied Research Assistantship Program.  The company also works with SAIC, Kroger (Bluefield Beverage), Cliffs Natural Resources, Textron-RE2 (Pittsburgh, PA) and the Rahall Transportation Institute at Marshall University on applied research, advanced vehicles, technology training, web 2.0 applications, and other technology development projects. 

(Bluefield)—The Center for Applied Research and Technology (CART, Inc.) at Bluefield State College has transferred the administration of its online Course Management Service (CMS) to the college’s Instructional Technology Center.  The CMS was developed by CART in 2003 to provide faculty members with an alternative to the other online learning solutions available at the time, and it has served several thousand student enrollments since its inception.  The transfer will become effective for the 2010 spring semester.

CMS Developer Cody Chambers, who turned the Moodle-based software into a full-fledged online service under CART, will serve in the same capacity for the Instructional Technology Center under Dr. Tom Blevins, Dean of the Virtual College at BSC.  “Moodle-based services have become very popular among teachers around the world,” Chambers said.  “Moodle is a great tool for creating dynamic Web sites for students.  I really enjoy working with faculty to continually improve our online courses.”

The transfer of the CMS technology to the college is one example of how of CART fulfills its mission of producing outstanding results through applied research, according to CART CEO Bruce Mutter.  “We focus on innovation and the transfer of technology to a self-sustaining market," explained Mutter.  "Whenever we create and deploy a system or service that works, like the CMS, it becomes another proven example of our reliability as a business partner.”

“This is a wonderful merger with Web-CT services, as it consolidates management under one organization and allows us to move forward with accreditation of online programs which, in turn, will lead to a number of degrees being fully available online at Bluefield State College, noted Dr. Blevins.

Other CART projects include working with Fenner Dunlop Americas (F-D) to develop a steel-cord conveyor belt design software tool and supporting F-D with its Applied Research Assistantship Program.  The company also works with its other partners including SAIC, Kroger (Bluefield Beverage), Cliffs Natural Resources, Preferred Chassis (Tucson, AZ), Textron-RE2 (Pittsburgh, PA) and the Rahall Transportation Institute at Marshall University on applied research, advanced vehicles, technology training, web 2.0 applications, and technology development projects.

(Bluefield)—The Center for Applied Research and Technology Inc. (CART) at Bluefield State College (BSC) will receive more than $70,000 through an agreement with the Marshall University Research Corporation on behalf of the Nick J. Rahall, II Appalachian Transportation Institute (RTI).

The RTI, contract renewal supports CART’s continuing service as campus coordinator for the Rahall Appalachian Transportation Institute. The Institute was established at Marshall University through a $12 million grant funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Special Program Administration as a University Transportation Center (UTC). RTI is one of 33 UTC’s funded by the Department of Transportation and includes CART’s work at BSC among three other collaborative institutions of higher education.

CART’s campus coordinator duties, include the expansion of undergraduate transportation applied research and education outreach activities, recruiting graduates for masters degrees under development by RTI, representing RTI at meetings, conferences and competitions related to RTI projects and programs, recruiting matching funds in support of applied research and transportation education, and reporting and documenting the work under contract through the RTI newsletters, website and www.njrati.org

(BLUEFIELD)— Two scholarly papers prepared and submitted by Bluefield State College faculty members were accepted and presented at the 2009 American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference and Exposition in Austin, Texas on June 15-18. The conference brings together an assembly of more than 3000 engineering educators, vendors, and publishers.  One of the papers describes collaborations with local industry arising from operations of the Center for Applied Research and Technology, Inc. (CART) at Bluefield State College (BSC).

The paper, “Operating a Center for Applied Research and Technology (CART, Inc.) at Bluefield State College,” was presented by Frank Hart (Dean/BSC School of Engineering Technology and Computer Science) and Bruce Mutter (CEO/Chair, CART).  ASEE proposal reviewers noted, “The Center for Applied Research and Technology appears to be a valuable resource for any state-of-the-art engineering program.  This is definitely a unique way to teach and promote innovation and entrepreneurship.”

BSC faculty members Roger Owensby (BSC Associate Professor, Mining Engineering Technology), Mike Plumley (BSC Adjunct Professor, Mining Engineering Technology), Hart and Mutter collaborated to produce and present “Development of a Web-Based Course in Miner Safety Training.”

"We have always enjoyed the opportunity to learn from others, participate in the sessions, and present the results of the past year’s research to our colleagues at the ASEE Conference," Mutter noted. "These presentations provide the platform for considering how the most current technology can be utilized in delivering technology-reliant engineering education.  The two papers approved for publication this year brings the total to 17 BSC-submitted papers accepted for an ASEE conference and exposition over the past five years.