The spotlight is back on the 2020 FLATE Awardees. This year FLATE and FloridaMakes are working together to coordinate the 2020 FLATE Awards and recognition program. FLATE Awards initiative was launched in 2007 and is part of FLATE, the Florida Advanced Technological Education Center’s strategy to recognize industry professionals and educators who have for a number of years invested in training the next generation of high-skilled workers. This year’s awardees are Todd Thuma, Alan Zube, and Shannon Guzman.
Todd Thuma, Manufacturing Secondary Educator-of-the-Year, is currently the instructional technology teacher at Mulberry High School in Mulberry, FL, boasts of storied educational and professional credentials in predominantly STEM-related fields. He holds a master’s degree in marine science from the University of South Carolina, and a second master’s degree in education and instruction technology from the University of Georgia. Most recently, as part of the National Science Foundation grant to design low cost PLC trainers, Thuma completed a three-year-long intensive training program on PLC’s at Florida State College at Jacksonville.
Thuma’s diverse professional experiences have not only added to his professional toolkit, but enriched what he’s brought to the classroom. Thuma believes any child can learn. The key, he says, is
finding something they enjoy and finding a connection to what they are learning. “The opportunities that await students in these careers provide them with a means of having the kind of life that elevates them from where they come”. He believes, education coupled with training and development of more efficient practices and tools for manufacturing is what will procure a productive worker. Given his innate interest in STEM and manufacturing, Thuma has his hands in several pots. In 2017, Thuma started an electric car race team competing in Electrathon of America through the Electrathon of Tampa League, and earned the award for Team Sponsor of the Year. Under his tutelage, the team has brought home many trophies over the years and remains undefeated in the current season. In 2017, Thuma wrote a grant that provided $5,000 for the purchase of Amatrol Applied Electronics Control 90-EC1A mechatronics trainer, and in 2016 he successfully secured a $3000 grant to purchase 3D printers for students at Mulberry High School.
Developing critical thinking and higher-order skills are also of prime importance as increased skills come from better educated workers. “Gone are the jobs where a worker spot welded sheet metal, on the contrary, skilled technicians program and maintain robots performing these tasks,” says Thuma. He advocates for educators to prepare students for the rigors of trouble shooting and analyzing the work, rather than just teaching them how to push buttons to operate machinery.
Alan Zube, the 2020 Post-Secondary Educator-of-the-Year, professor of Advanced Manufacturing and CAD at Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ). At FSCJ, Zube teaches survey electronics, hydraulics and pneumatics, and robotics. In the past, he has also taught Mechanics, Manufacturing Processes, Motors and Controls, Introduction to Engineering Design, AutoCAD, Advanced AutoCAD, and Intro to Geographic Information Systems.
Zube is a strong proponent of manufacturing education and points to manufacturing as an important component of an economy. He points to manufacturing as the bedrock of innovation, invention and learning process development, and advocates a need for students to expand their understanding about the exciting opportunities in manufacturing. He is among a growing number of educators who bemoan the loss of application of knowledge and process development in the K-12 education system. “Gone are the days of woodworking, metal working, sewing, cooking and other application-based classes that provided relevance for students and allowed them to see the value of their studies in science, math and humanities” laments Zube.
These trends, he notes, has made manufacturing education more important than ever. “Robust manufacturing education that attracts students of all gender, race and socioeconomic backgrounds is more critical now than ever.” Part of the need for manufacturing education, he says, stems from the need to economically support the framework of the manufacturing industry as it exists, and more importantly train for what manufacturing will look like by 2030. He highlights the economic benefits of manufacturing as one of the largest multiplies of the economy and points out the benefits of manufacturing education in imbibing important real-life skills like problem-solving and teamwork that transfer across professional boundaries.
Zube’s professional portfolio unravels a number of achievements and engagements in STEM-related projects. Since 2019 he has served as the Principal Investigator for an NSF Grant that is focused on Industry 4.0 technician training in advanced manufacturing, was the Co-PI of the CollaborATE NSF grant, and the PI for the NSF ATE Instrumentation and Control Technician program. He serves on multiple advisory board of members that include the Orange Park High School Engineering Academy, Johnson & Johnson Advanced Manufacturing Dual Enrollment program at Englewood High School, Lee High School’s Project Lead the Way program and the Nassau County Machining and Manufacturing advisory board. He previously worked at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College in West Virginia (WV) where he kick-started the mechatronics program and played a leading role in securing over $2 million in WV advanced program grants. Other positions include teaching at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College in Martinsburg, WV, where he helped build and establish the Mechatronics program, and served as the program coordinator for four years. Zube also served as an adjunct instructor at Hagerstown Community. He is trained in Industry 4.0 and in 2019 certified over 100 students in SnapOn Multimeter and Festo Hydraulic and Pneumatics.
On the industry side of the continuum, Shannon Guzman is the recipient of the 2020 FLATE
Distinguished Manufacturing Partner Service Award. Guzman has been the regional Human Resources Leader for Chromalloy Tampa Castings since August 2016. Guzman has over 16 years of experience as a HR professional. She has served at the Department of Defense Education in the Netherlands, was the Division Talent Acquisition Manager for Everest University Online, and provided HR leadership for manufacturing companies such as Ingersoll Rand and Western Forge in Colorado Springs. Guzman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Maryland University College- European Division, and an MBA with an emphasis in HR Management from Colorado Technical University.
In her role as the regional HR leader for Chromalloy Castings, Guzman has worked with FLATE, Hillsborough Community College, CareerSource Tampa Bay and the Manufacturing Alliance to build strategic partnerships in education, talent development and manufacturing market insights. The partnership with FLATE/HCC has culminated into the launching of a successful internship program to provide students with hands on learning, and a tangible career path customized to their skills, ambition and aptitude.
Guzman’s views on manufacturing and manufacturing education is through the lens of a human resources and talent development and acquisition professional. Guzman points to “employees” as a company’s most important asset. Manufacturing, she says, is all about producing high quality products that meet customers’ standards of excellence in a global marketplace. To that effect, Guzman believes the man, or the woman behind the machine and the product is what sets a company apart. Therefore, recruiting and training skilled workforce is essential to driving the bottom line.
In manufacturing, she notes, there is a growing demand for production operators to not only contribute to assembling a particular part, but to understand the role they play in achieving the fulfillment of the big picture, by applying advanced manufacturing concepts, especially by process improvement through lean techniques, troubleshooting their equipment, analyzing data and maintaining machine and work area safety. In that regard Guzman says “manufacturing education provides the critical foundation of safety, quality, business acumen and fundamental equipment knowledge.” The rationale being candidates who possess these attributes not only save the company time and money, but have the capabilities to add immediate value to their production process, their team, and the business overall. This is in turn correlates to achieving successful KPIs that ultimately drives quality deliverables and team satisfaction. Recognizing manufacturing education’s link to quality, safety and customer focus will continue to drive enhanced global customer and U.S. company confidence and trust that we can provide the workforce for the growth in this sector, and the jobs and careers of the future for generations to come.
2020 marks the 13th year of recognizing educators as well as industry and community partners who support the advanced manufacturing industry in Florida. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, there will be no award ceremony this year. However, awardees will still receive their recognition pieces and congratulatory letters from the governor of Florida. For more information visit https://fl-ate.org/programs/flate-awards, or email Dr. Marilyn Barger at barger@fl-ate.org.
Todd Thuma, Manufacturing Secondary Educator-of-the-Year, is currently the instructional technology teacher at Mulberry High School in Mulberry, FL, boasts of storied educational and professional credentials in predominantly STEM-related fields. He holds a master’s degree in marine science from the University of South Carolina, and a second master’s degree in education and instruction technology from the University of Georgia. Most recently, as part of the National Science Foundation grant to design low cost PLC trainers, Thuma completed a three-year-long intensive training program on PLC’s at Florida State College at Jacksonville.
Thuma’s diverse professional experiences have not only added to his professional toolkit, but enriched what he’s brought to the classroom. Thuma believes any child can learn. The key, he says, is
finding something they enjoy and finding a connection to what they are learning. “The opportunities that await students in these careers provide them with a means of having the kind of life that elevates them from where they come”. He believes, education coupled with training and development of more efficient practices and tools for manufacturing is what will procure a productive worker. Given his innate interest in STEM and manufacturing, Thuma has his hands in several pots. In 2017, Thuma started an electric car race team competing in Electrathon of America through the Electrathon of Tampa League, and earned the award for Team Sponsor of the Year. Under his tutelage, the team has brought home many trophies over the years and remains undefeated in the current season. In 2017, Thuma wrote a grant that provided $5,000 for the purchase of Amatrol Applied Electronics Control 90-EC1A mechatronics trainer, and in 2016 he successfully secured a $3000 grant to purchase 3D printers for students at Mulberry High School.
Developing critical thinking and higher-order skills are also of prime importance as increased skills come from better educated workers. “Gone are the jobs where a worker spot welded sheet metal, on the contrary, skilled technicians program and maintain robots performing these tasks,” says Thuma. He advocates for educators to prepare students for the rigors of trouble shooting and analyzing the work, rather than just teaching them how to push buttons to operate machinery.
Alan Zube, the 2020 Post-Secondary Educator-of-the-Year, professor of Advanced Manufacturing and CAD at Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ). At FSCJ, Zube teaches survey electronics, hydraulics and pneumatics, and robotics. In the past, he has also taught Mechanics, Manufacturing Processes, Motors and Controls, Introduction to Engineering Design, AutoCAD, Advanced AutoCAD, and Intro to Geographic Information Systems.
Zube is a strong proponent of manufacturing education and points to manufacturing as an important component of an economy. He points to manufacturing as the bedrock of innovation, invention and learning process development, and advocates a need for students to expand their understanding about the exciting opportunities in manufacturing. He is among a growing number of educators who bemoan the loss of application of knowledge and process development in the K-12 education system. “Gone are the days of woodworking, metal working, sewing, cooking and other application-based classes that provided relevance for students and allowed them to see the value of their studies in science, math and humanities” laments Zube.
These trends, he notes, has made manufacturing education more important than ever. “Robust manufacturing education that attracts students of all gender, race and socioeconomic backgrounds is more critical now than ever.” Part of the need for manufacturing education, he says, stems from the need to economically support the framework of the manufacturing industry as it exists, and more importantly train for what manufacturing will look like by 2030. He highlights the economic benefits of manufacturing as one of the largest multiplies of the economy and points out the benefits of manufacturing education in imbibing important real-life skills like problem-solving and teamwork that transfer across professional boundaries.
Zube’s professional portfolio unravels a number of achievements and engagements in STEM-related projects. Since 2019 he has served as the Principal Investigator for an NSF Grant that is focused on Industry 4.0 technician training in advanced manufacturing, was the Co-PI of the CollaborATE NSF grant, and the PI for the NSF ATE Instrumentation and Control Technician program. He serves on multiple advisory board of members that include the Orange Park High School Engineering Academy, Johnson & Johnson Advanced Manufacturing Dual Enrollment program at Englewood High School, Lee High School’s Project Lead the Way program and the Nassau County Machining and Manufacturing advisory board. He previously worked at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College in West Virginia (WV) where he kick-started the mechatronics program and played a leading role in securing over $2 million in WV advanced program grants. Other positions include teaching at Blue Ridge Community and Technical College in Martinsburg, WV, where he helped build and establish the Mechatronics program, and served as the program coordinator for four years. Zube also served as an adjunct instructor at Hagerstown Community. He is trained in Industry 4.0 and in 2019 certified over 100 students in SnapOn Multimeter and Festo Hydraulic and Pneumatics.
On the industry side of the continuum, Shannon Guzman is the recipient of the 2020 FLATE
Distinguished Manufacturing Partner Service Award. Guzman has been the regional Human Resources Leader for Chromalloy Tampa Castings since August 2016. Guzman has over 16 years of experience as a HR professional. She has served at the Department of Defense Education in the Netherlands, was the Division Talent Acquisition Manager for Everest University Online, and provided HR leadership for manufacturing companies such as Ingersoll Rand and Western Forge in Colorado Springs. Guzman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Maryland University College- European Division, and an MBA with an emphasis in HR Management from Colorado Technical University.
In her role as the regional HR leader for Chromalloy Castings, Guzman has worked with FLATE, Hillsborough Community College, CareerSource Tampa Bay and the Manufacturing Alliance to build strategic partnerships in education, talent development and manufacturing market insights. The partnership with FLATE/HCC has culminated into the launching of a successful internship program to provide students with hands on learning, and a tangible career path customized to their skills, ambition and aptitude.
Guzman’s views on manufacturing and manufacturing education is through the lens of a human resources and talent development and acquisition professional. Guzman points to “employees” as a company’s most important asset. Manufacturing, she says, is all about producing high quality products that meet customers’ standards of excellence in a global marketplace. To that effect, Guzman believes the man, or the woman behind the machine and the product is what sets a company apart. Therefore, recruiting and training skilled workforce is essential to driving the bottom line.
In manufacturing, she notes, there is a growing demand for production operators to not only contribute to assembling a particular part, but to understand the role they play in achieving the fulfillment of the big picture, by applying advanced manufacturing concepts, especially by process improvement through lean techniques, troubleshooting their equipment, analyzing data and maintaining machine and work area safety. In that regard Guzman says “manufacturing education provides the critical foundation of safety, quality, business acumen and fundamental equipment knowledge.” The rationale being candidates who possess these attributes not only save the company time and money, but have the capabilities to add immediate value to their production process, their team, and the business overall. This is in turn correlates to achieving successful KPIs that ultimately drives quality deliverables and team satisfaction. Recognizing manufacturing education’s link to quality, safety and customer focus will continue to drive enhanced global customer and U.S. company confidence and trust that we can provide the workforce for the growth in this sector, and the jobs and careers of the future for generations to come.
2020 marks the 13th year of recognizing educators as well as industry and community partners who support the advanced manufacturing industry in Florida. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, there will be no award ceremony this year. However, awardees will still receive their recognition pieces and congratulatory letters from the governor of Florida. For more information visit https://fl-ate.org/programs/flate-awards, or email Dr. Marilyn Barger at barger@fl-ate.org.
All Florida State and Community Colleges, universities, secondary and elementary schools are now operating remotely to ensure the safety of their students, families, themselves, and our educational colleagues. With educator dedication, strong support from each college and the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE), our students will complete the 2020 spring semester and make plans to continue their education.
There have been so many creative and inspirational solutions in such a short time across all educational levels, I am sure those stories have warmed all of our hearts and inspired us to be bold and try something new. Personally, I love the story of the school bus driver, driving alone to deliver lunches to those students who typically get lunch at school; and the parade of teachers from an elementary school driving through the neighborhood on the first day of “school at home” to let their students know that they were “still there”. Although separated, the situation has brought many together in new remote ways, in small and large groups to address these issues (and many more). Please do not hesitate to reach out to your colleges, the FLDOE, the Division of Career and Adult Education and FLATE for assistance.
For our part, FLATE is keeping up with industry and educational transitions and has aggregated a list of online resources onto the ET modules index page. The list includes some generous offerings of free access to online curriculum, simulations, demonstrations, video lectures, and more from our educational colleagues, and our equipment and curriculum providers. We continue to add resources that might be used for engineering technology (ET) and manufacturing courses and/or labs. If you would like us to include your resource onto the list, please contact us.
FLATE also looks forward to meeting virtually with all its Engineering and Manufacturing Technology colleagues at two online ET Forum sessions later this month. Two 2-hour online sessions will hopefully fill the gap left by not meeting face-to-face at Eastern Florida State College (EFSC). The online sessions are scheduled for Friday, April 17 and Friday, April 24 from 9:00 – 11:00 AM. While we are all learning how to explore and exploit many new educational technologies and communication tools, it will be great to share what we know, what is working, and other lessons learned. FLATE is also excited to welcome Bob Blevins, State Supervisor for Manufacturing and Chancellor Henry Mack to our ET Forum sessions. Both will provide updates on the online session occurring on April 17th. Looking ahead, we hope to be able to leverage our online meeting space and time to accomplish other important projects and keep our community connected between ET Forum sessions. During these difficult times, feel free to contact me (barger@fl-ate.org) or the FLATE staff if you have a question or issue that you’d like to discuss.
Academic administrators from the Florida State and Community Colleges meet three times per year to share strategies and learn about updates from the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE). They also work together to review and make recommendations to both the Florida College presidents and the FLDOE. The Council of Presidents (COP) recognizes the several continuing subordinate councils as well as directs and monitors their work and the work of any subcommittees and ad hoc working groups. Typically, each college has one voting representative for each council. Additional college representatives can attend the meetings and participate in the working groups.
There are 4 recognized subordinate councils (to the COP) that are related to college academics and college students:
• the Council for Instructional Affairs (CIA)
• the Council for Student Affairs (CSA)
• the Council for Learning Resources (CLR)
• the Council for Workforce Education (CWE).
Each of these councils make independent recommendations for issues with respect to their specific focus. The Council of Workforce Education, for example, is, and always has been deeply engaged in the implementation of Perkins Laws as well as the Florida Career and Professional Education (CAPE) Act. Student success depends on student completions and smooth articulations to higher education and/or transitions to the workplace.
CWE currently has working groups to help identify solutions that will be amenable for all system colleges in several areas including how limited access programs are treated and coded, Perkins eligibility issues, A.S. to B.S articulations (local and statewide), developing a CTE Curriculum Framework for Science and Engineering, and appropriate General Education requirements for various A.S. degrees. Most of this current work supports the upcoming Perkins V implementation plan for the state and the newly implemented statewide CTE Audit mandated by Governor DeSantis.
In 2019, Governor DeSantis ordered a statewide audit of all CTE programs focused on market demand and institutional performance that includes the following:
• An analysis of alignment with certificate or degree programs offered at the K-12 and post-secondary levels;
• An analysis of alignment with professional level industry certifications;
• An analysis of alignment with high-growth, high-demand and high wage employment opportunities; and
• A review of student outcomes such as academic achievement, college readiness, post-secondary enrollment, credential attainment and attainment of industry certifications.
The next phase of the Florida CTE Audit will involve local reviews at the institutional level with assessments in the same categories. CWE will be an important liaison between the colleges. A lot is happening in CTE around the country and in Florida. Florida’s Council for Workforce Education is playing an important role to keep implementation of these new federal and state requirements fair and equitable to all institutions and supportive of student success.
For more information about the Florida CTE Audit, visit the FLDOE Career Pathways website; and, for more information on Florida’s Perkins V Implementation, visit this site. You can learn more about CWE on its shared website with the three other subordinate councils, www.fcscouncils.org.
FLATE, the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education Center of Excellence for Manufacturing Education in Florida, in partnership with FloridaMakes, the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), successfully convened twelve regional workshops through the Florida Regional Manufacturing Association (RMA) Network. Between mid-April and mid-October, twelve events were hosted by RMAs involved 390 educators, manufacturers, and a few other stakeholders. The objective of the collective events was to craft the foundation of a statewide community of practice among two-year degree manufacturing programs, regional education partners and the regional manufacturers to support advanced manufacturing education in Florida. A number of opportunities and challenges were extracted from these meetings and prioritized based on commonality for a state report and summary. Some challenges were specific to individual regions and have been noted for follow up opportunities. However, there were several common themes from the convenings related to workforce challenges that deal with talent development, skills gaps in exiting students, as well as the need for increased collaboration and communication between employers and educators.
The FLATE Regional Workshops were a first step in building a more sustainable talent supply that is relevant and reflects the skills and curriculum to support current and future regional manufacturing talent needs. The twelve events lasted 2-3 hours each and there were no formal presentations. Each event ended with the participants identifying a 90-day project that would begin or strengthen communication and collaboration between the employers, workforce partners who supply training funds and the educators to resolve a regional issue. The lively discussions were guided by FLATE facilitators who worked their way through topics on (1) past successful partnerships, (2) what manufacturers need from educators, and (3) what educators need from manufacturers, (4) assets on both sides, (5) barriers on both sides, and (6) ultimately defining a short-term project that would help to start better engagement between the educators and manufacturers. Each project is co-led by one manufacturer and one representative from the state college’s manufacturing program. Watch for details about some of the outcomes and successful projects in upcoming issues of the FLATE Focus.
FLATE would like to thank FloridaMakes for organizing the events with the RMA’s and also the following participating Regional Manufacturers’ Associations who hosted these events. For more information, contact Dr. Marilyn Barger (barger@fl-ate.org).
For the New Year the Florida-based National Science Foundation Regional Center of Excellence (FLATE) and FloridaMakes, are working together to coordinate the 2020 FLATE Awards and recognition program. This will be our 13th year of recognizing educators as well as industry and community partners who support the advanced manufacturing industry in Florida. Seventy-five outstanding, dedicated educators and manufacturing professional from all over the state have been recognized to date.
FLATE Awards are geared to recognize secondary and postsecondary educators and industry professionals for their outstanding contributions to promote and support technology education and careers awareness in manufacturing. Awardees are recognized under three separate categories and includes individuals in any manufacturing area including economic development, industry, education and administration.
FLATE Award winners are selected from nominations submitted from all across the state. Nominees are judged by an Awards Committee made up of industry representative(s), FAITE board member(s), past awardee(s), and member(s) of the FloridaMakes Workforce Leadership Committee.
Awards Categories
2020 FLATE Distinguished Manufacturing Secondary Educator-of-the-Year Award
The FLATE Distinguished Manufacturing Secondary Educator of the year award recognizes a high school educator for outstanding contributions to manufacturing and/or engineering technology education. Recipients of this award must have made significant contributions toward innovative, unique and novel programs and have shown a professional commitment towards manufacturing industry. To learn more about this award criteria click here.
2020 FLATE Distinguished Manufacturing Post-Secondary Educator-of-the-Year Award
The FLATE Distinguished Manufacturing Post-Secondary Educator-of-the-Year Award recognizes a community college or technical school educator for outstanding contributions to manufacturing and/or engineering technology education and training of today’s advanced manufacturing workforce. Nominees for the award must have demonstrated an impact on technology education at the local, state, and/or national level. To learn more about this award criteria click here.
2020 FLATE Distinguished Manufacturing Partner Service Award
The FLATE Distinguished Manufacturing Partner Service Award recognizes key personnel for outstanding contributions to promote technology education and career awareness in support of manufacturing. This award includes nominees working in any manufacturing area such as economic development, industry, education, and administration. Awardees must have demonstrated an impact on technology education at the local, state, and/or national level. The award represents FLATE’s commitment to recognize colleagues who made significant contributions to the outreach, education, and training of today’s advanced manufacturing workforce. To learn more about this award criteria click here.
Nominees should demonstrate exceptional devotion of time, effort, thought, and action toward furthering FLATE’s mission.
Timeline
Location: JW Marriott Orlando, Grande Lakes. 4040 Central Florida Pkwy
Orlando, FL.
Location: Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld, 6677 Sea Harbor Drive, Orlando, FL.
Event will be hosted by the Florida Association for Industrial and Technical Educators (FAITE).
Awards Sponsors
To submit a nomination visit the FLATE Awards page at https://fl-ate.org/programs/flate-awards. View the FLATE Awards flyer by clicking here. You can also contact Executive Director of FLATE, Dr. Marilyn Barger at barger@fl-ate.org.
At the holiday season, our thoughts turn gratefully to our partners and friends who have made our success possible and extend our sincere thanks.
From all of us at FLATE we wish you a wonderful holiday and may the New Year be filled with joy and peace.
If you were a 90’s kid, you probably heard, or even watched a television series called “Where are they Now.” The show provided viewers with current updates on past celebrities. Drawing up similarities from the show, in this edition of the FLATE Focus we take a similar trajectory in tracking the professional and educational pathways of a few students who graduated from the A.S. degree in Engineering Technology (A.S.E.T) from one of the community/state colleges in Florida.
Chris Mizell was fresh out of the military when he started his degree in engineering technology at Hillsborough Community College (HCC). He knew he wanted to pursue a workforce-ready degree which as he thought would be a fast-track to launching a career in a new direction. The A.S. degree in engineering technology was just the right fit for him. “The program by far is the best route for any industrial tradesmen looking to enhance his/her knowledge and make that next step into a career.” The degree helped Mizell broaden his knowledge in the concepts, applications, and working of an industrial production process. The courses also helped build his electrical and electronic capabilities in the fast-growing technology industries.
Today Mizell works as a Maintenance Technician for Advanced Airfoil Components in Gibsonton, FL. He enjoys the constant change in the type of job he encounters on a day-to-day basis and appreciates the complex process involved in manufacturing a product and getting it ready for use in the real world.
Valerie Bullington’s journey speaks of another rising star whose foray into the world of
manufacturing started back in 2010 when she attended the FLATE robotics camp at Hillsborough Community College. At the time she was a 13-year-old middle school student who was completely new to the world of robotics, much less manufacturing. Attending the robotics camp “greatly impacted the choices I made for my future,” said Bullington and set her on a path to pursuing an engineering-related field.
Fast forward to today and Bullington has come full circle. She currently works as an associate for an Amazon facility in Ruskin, FL while pursuing an A.S. degree in electronic engineering. The classes she’s currently enrolled in may not be directly related to what she does at work, however, she feels they have had a huge impact on presenting growth opportunities for her both inside, or outside of Amazon. She is an MSSC Certified Production Technician and is working hard for a chance to be promoted as a maintenance technician at Amazon. Bullington is set to graduate in the summer of 2020 and is looking forward to pursuing rewarding opportunities in the manufacturing industry.
Our final spotlight is on a graduate who earned his A.S.E.T degree in 2012 from the State College of Florida (SCF). Andrew Sink’s exposure and journey into the world of manufacturing started as an international exchange student at SCF. The international student exchange program was an educational program that culminated through a partnership between FLATE, the Florida-based National Science Foundation Center, SCF, HCC and Usurbilgo Lanbide Eskola, an overseas college in the Basque Country that offers similar engineering technology programs.
The opportunity served as a conduit for Sink to embark on a rewarding and lucrative career in manufacturing. He currently works as an additive manufacturing applications engineer for TriMech Solutions, an engineering services provider with offices located throughout the east coast, providing coverage from Maine to Florida. “There is nothing I enjoy more than seeing how things are made” says Sink whose primary area of expertise lies in additive manufacturing and 3D printing. He is based out of Charlotte, NC, where he is in charge of the entire southeast region from North Carolina, to Arkansas to Florida.
“Every day is totally different as I travel all over the east coast and beyond as part of my job” says Sink. A large part of what he does involves touring factories, manufacturing plants, research labs and examining what processes a company currently uses and accordingly determining how 3D printing can give the company a competitive advantage. He also teaches training classes that are focused on advanced design for additive manufacturing concepts such as design, implementation and material selection, and enjoys helping clients understand how additive manufacturing can improve processes.
Looking back, the core courses Sink took as part of his A.S.E.T degree at SCF, greatly prepared him with the skills needed to succeed at work. The “Intro to SolidWorks class” for example, was Sink’s first exposure to parametric 3D modeling and 3D printers and has helped him tremendously as he uses it nearly every day at work. Sink is thankful to the ET program at SCF and the partnership with FLATE for introducing him to the world of manufacturing. “It’s a great time to get involved in manufacturing,” says Sink. As automation continues to become more prevalent and new opportunities for process improvement and problem-solving are created every day, Sink believes the next ET graduate could easily be “the” person to come up with a revolutionary concept “to design and implement those new solutions.”
The Engineering Technology degree program was developed by the Florida Advanced Technological Education Center with community colleges and industries across the state and in close partnership with the Florida Department of Education Division of Adult and Career Education. The Degree was developed to address a growing need to supply manufacturers and high-technology industries with qualified, highly- skilled workers in the foreseeable future. The program is a cohesive, comprehensive framework that focuses on a set of core classes that cover introductory computer aided drafting, electronics, instrumentation and testing, processes and materials, quality and safety. These core skills align with the national Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) Certified Production Technician Certification. The ET Core coupled with a second year degree specialization prepares students for many jobs in manufacturing and many other high-technology industries.
For a full list of state and community colleges currently offering the A.S.E.T degree in Florida visit https://madeinflorida.org/engineering-technology-degree/e-t-overview, or contact Dr. Marilyn Barger at barger@fl-ate.org/813.259.6578. To join a consortium of engineering technology graduates across Florida connect with us on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/et-degree-community.
The annual NSF ATE Principal Investigator’s Conference, organized by the American Association of Community College (AACC), was held in Washington DC in the Omni Shoreham Hotel. The conference had two showcasing events during which all projects were required to share their work in a visual display. There are currently over twenty funded NSF ATE Projects in Florida and all were in attendance. The conference provides a great venue for learning collaborations among projects as well as opportunities for the NSF program officers who oversee the various projects to review progress directly with the PI’s and project personnel.
FLATE congratulates all the Florida projects (22) P.I.’s and their teams at 14 Florida Educational Institutions for stepping forward to meet their own local technician education challenges with innovated solutions. Florida Colleges showcasing and/or presenting include those in the list below.
In addition to the showcasing sessions, the conference had a variety of session types including demonstrations, synergy sessions, forums, and discussions. There were also inspiring keynote speakers, student poster sessions and a special program of events for alumni and students of ATE programs. Typically, over 60 students from across the country attend the annual meeting (sponsored by both AACC and the ATE College program that they attend) and are recognized by the leaders of the National Science Foundation.
In addition to its popular annual showcase, this year FLATE organized a session on advanced FLATE’s wiki.
manufacturing, process control and instrumentation. As industries become more automated, quality gets integrated into production, and artificial intelligence creeps into all manufacturing operations, discrete industry sectors are using more and more of the same technologies in their production processes. Joined by experts from ATE projects at Central College (NE), South Arkansas Community College (AK), and Florida State College at Jacksonville (FL) and nearly 100 conference attendees, FLATE’s panel explored the new and emerging needs of the broad chemical processing industry technician workforce. You can find the slide from the panel posted on
FLATE also participated in its partner’s sessions including a synergy session for Preparing Technicians for the Future of Work which focused on how we can engage technician education regional forums around emerging skills; PathTech LISTEN’s discussion session which is tackling the issue of tracking students after graduation to learn more about what kinds of career positions they move into; and the early morning Round Tables for Integrating Necessary Skills into our education process and Needed Math to define the skills needed and how to make math a more integrated and holistic part of the technician education.
Overall, the NSF ATE Principal Investigator’s Conference showcases the edge of advanced technician education, inspires and energizes all attendees, and provides promising practices for the ongoing improvement of technician education supporting emerging industry needs across the United States.
For more information about the conference and posted presentations, please visit the AACC website. For more information about the NSF ATE projects in Florida, visit FLATE’s website.
Congratulations from the FLATE Team to Orange County Technical College Mechatronics Program! Duke Energy and the OCPS Foundation recently awarded Steve Bowman, Instructor at Orange Technical College Mid Florida Campus a $5000 to help support after school programs in robotics. Outside of the traditional program, Steve runs robotics teams for underprivileged, at-risk, and under-represented students who would not have this opportunity at their home school. These students work with him, as well as other industry representatives, to build competitive robots based on their education and skill levels to compete at regional, state, and international competitions. The money will be used to buy some of the materials needed for middle school and high school teams. All students on these teams are allowed to participate no matter their socio-economic status and they rely on corporate donations like this to cover the cost of tools, materials, and travel to events.
The Early Years
Manufacturing Day marks the kick-off for a month-long celebration of manufacturing and manufacturers contributions in shaping the face of modern manufacturing. Manufacturing Day is an opportunity for manufacturers to step out of the shadows and spotlight their role in transforming innovative ideas into real-world products. For a long time, the word ‘Manufacturing’ conjured negative images of a dying industry with limited opportunities and potential for growth. In reality, manufacturing is the lifeline of an economy, any economy for that matter! In that respect, Manufacturing Day earmarks the trailblazing moments of the manufacturing industry, the role of manufacturing in germinating groundbreaking ideas and converting them into tangible products, and showcasing what manufacturers do on a daily basis to inspire the next generation of innovators.
On the national level, the Manufacturing Day initiative kick started in 2012 and was orchestrated primarily by Fabricators and Manufacturers Association International and its cohesive network of partners that at the time included NAM, National Manufacturers Association, the Manufacturing Institute (MI), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP). This network of founding partners have been highly successful in rolling out the idea of celebrating Manufacturing Day on a national platform and in working with a vast network of statewide organizations that have hopped into the bandwagon to celebrate Manufacturing Day on a local level in various pockets and capacities across the country.
2019 is poised to be another banner year for Manufacturing Day in Florida. Across the state new Manufacturing Day teams have emerged to lead regional efforts for Manufacturing Day. Check with your regional manufacturers associations to get an update on how to get involved in Manufacturing Day industry tours and related events. In terms of FLATE, it has completely revamped its Manufacturing Day site. The FLATE Wiki is now your one-stop-shop for all information and resources needed to successfully plan Manufacturing Day industry tours and events, access Manufacturing Day STEM-based curriculum, download instructions for media outreach, and download pre and post Manufacturing Day surveys. The FLATE Industry Tour Best Practice Guide is also another great place to check while planning your Manufacturing Day tours and events.
The State of Florida has the third largest population in country, with an official 2020 estimate of 21.5 million persons and approximately 58% of the population is in the civilian labor force (12,600,000).
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