Ryan H. is making the most out of his college experience. The 2015 NBT/John Grossheim Memorial (OPC) Scholarship winner is pursuing a degree in Industrial Engineering at Penn State, works as a TA, and has a need for speed.

Ryan landed a new job this semester and became a teaching assistant at the Penn State Learning Factory, a student-run manufacturing facility. In this position, he is responsible for supervising students working in the Learning Factory, providing safety training to new students, and aiding other students with the operation of equipment such as the water-jet, 3-D printers, and laser engraver.

He spends his “spare time” as the manufacturing lead for the Penn State Formula SAE team, an integral part of the group. This position keeps him extremely busy because the team manufactures 90% of the car at Penn State.

Not settling for less, here’s what Ryan had to say about an improvement the team made to this year’s car:

“This year the team decided to manufacture our own wheel centers because we have had issues with the “off-the-shelf” wheel centers in the past. We validated the new design through a Finite Element Analysis program on the computer and then tested them on the track after machining was complete.”

Penn State Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) is a student run design team with the task of designing and prototyping a formula-style racecar for the annual Formula SAE competition. At this competition, held at Michigan International Speedway, teams from all over the world are judged in both static and dynamic events including: cost of production, ergonomics, an investment presentation, acceleration, autocross time, and a grueling endurance race. The competition provides students with an opportunity to apply their engineering, organization, and communication skills in an industry-like setting.

The Penn State Racing Team finished 39th overall and 14th in endurance during the May 12-14, 2016 competition. They’re already planning and excited for next year! Ryan’s team captain would be proud to know that he requested a simple line in this feature, “If you have additional questions about the team or are interested in the sponsoring the car, please contact George Mishkin, the team captain, at pennstateracing@gmail.com.”

Ryan is a true leader, teacher, entrepreneur, and focused student, he said “receiving the NBT scholarship last fall was a huge blessing, and I can’t thank you enough. It really helped out!”

Hats off to Ryan for his dedication to the industry. If you would like to support a student pursuing a career in manufacturing, consider making a donation to the NBT scholarship program.