When chemical engineering professor Bernard Van Wie wanted to develop a desktop learning module (DLM) to explain complex principles to his students, he turned to the College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA) shops for help.
“The CEA shops were invaluable in creating the desktop learning modules,” said Van Wie. “Shop personnel are abreast of the latest techniques in computer-aided machining, which makes their end product very precise and uniform.
“I really believe in implementing modern teaching pedagogies into the engineering classroom, as it helps students understand the material far better than they would from a traditional lecture format,” Van Wie said. “We want to be able to supply this equipment in an easy-to-use and affordable format.”
Conceptualizing creativity
Researchers often come up with ideas but have a difficult time turning them into tangible objects. The shop staff members are masters at conceptualizing, designing and creating 3-D objects.
Researchers often come up with ideas but have a difficult time turning them into tangible objects. The shop staff members are masters at conceptualizing, designing and creating 3-D objects.
The CEA shops design and build teaching and research apparatuses for faculty and students in all areas of the college and for the greater university. From preparing material specimens and building lab equipment, to developing complex research tools like the ammonia telescope for professor George Mount or the baseball bat cannon for professor Lloyd Smith, shop staff are responsible for specialized research equipment found in all areas of the university. (See two VIDEOS of the bat cannon here)
“We’re right down the hall from many researchers, which allows us to closely collaborate during the problem solving process,” said supervisor Miles Pepper. “That access is invaluable when you’re trying to make something for the first time.”
Believe it or not
Researchers aren’t the only ones who appreciate the CEA shop talent. In the mid 1980s, the shop constructed an object that resulted in international appreciation for shop tech Gary Held. He was featured on the TV show “Ripley’s Believe it or Not,” for constructing the world’s first rear prosthetic leg for a horse.
Researchers aren’t the only ones who appreciate the CEA shop talent. In the mid 1980s, the shop constructed an object that resulted in international appreciation for shop tech Gary Held. He was featured on the TV show “Ripley’s Believe it or Not,” for constructing the world’s first rear prosthetic leg for a horse.
Typically, when horses break their legs, they are put down; however, when a thoroughbred race horse broke his leg, the veterinary school was asked to save him. School personnel conducted a successful partial amputation of the leg and asked Held, who watched the amputation, to make a mold of the leg and create a prosthetic.
Soon after this success, the vet school received a call from the sheikh of Bahrain, a small island located in the center of the Persian Gulf, asking for help for his horse with a similar problem.
Variety of skills
WSU added the first iteration of the CEA shops in 1892 with a 28-by-40-foot frame structure erected east of Ferry Hall (which was torn down in 1903). After a handful of relocations, by the mid 1930s, the shop settled where the Engineering Teaching and Research Laboratories (ETRL) are located. The shop found its permanent home in 1946, when Dana Hall was built.
WSU added the first iteration of the CEA shops in 1892 with a 28-by-40-foot frame structure erected east of Ferry Hall (which was torn down in 1903). After a handful of relocations, by the mid 1930s, the shop settled where the Engineering Teaching and Research Laboratories (ETRL) are located. The shop found its permanent home in 1946, when Dana Hall was built.
Today’s shop staff members pride themselves on their varied backgrounds which, said Pepper, allows them to quickly resolve design challenges to fabricate, modify or repair equipment to exacting standards. Pepper, for example, is an established artist, having completed large commissioned sculpture works throughout the Northwest and California.
Cost-competitive
In addition to fine craftsmanship, the CEA shops offer a cost-competitive product. At about $40 an hour for university projects, their rates can’t be touched by similar shops found in Seattle and Portland.
In addition to fine craftsmanship, the CEA shops offer a cost-competitive product. At about $40 an hour for university projects, their rates can’t be touched by similar shops found in Seattle and Portland.
“We’re easily a third lower than local and regional rates, and we’re not exclusive to engineering. We can do work for people and groups all over campus, the community and even U of I,” said Pepper.
Unparalleled quality
With grant funding from the World Bank, Van Wie is producing roughly 400 desktop learning modules based on the CEA shops design for use throughout Nigeria. The DLM will be reformatted for mass production by Infinetix Corp. in Spokane and assembled in Kaduna, Nigeria by Major Academy Ltd., for use in classrooms in all six of Nigeria’s geopolitical regions.
With grant funding from the World Bank, Van Wie is producing roughly 400 desktop learning modules based on the CEA shops design for use throughout Nigeria. The DLM will be reformatted for mass production by Infinetix Corp. in Spokane and assembled in Kaduna, Nigeria by Major Academy Ltd., for use in classrooms in all six of Nigeria’s geopolitical regions.
“There are few people as creative and hard working as this crew,” said Van Wie of the CEA shops. “One company representative who is very familiar with the DLMs says there is not another machinist he can hire in the world who can do the quality of workmanship he sees in the DLMs and cartridges.”
Find an earlier article about Van Wie’s DLMs ONLINE
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here.
