In celebration of Vaisakhi, the Sikh new year and Punjabi harvest festival, the Penn State Berks Punjabi Culture Club and Muslim Student Association will host a special celebration from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, in the Perkins Student Center Multipurpose Room on campus. This event is free and open to Penn State Berks students, faculty and staff.
Penn State Berks has been granted a charter from the National Spanish Honor Society Sigma Delta Pi, which recognizes college students who attain excellence in the study of the Spanish language, literature, and cultures, and who are committed to understanding the Hispanic world. Four Berks students will be inducted during the inaugural ceremony on Monday, April 9, 2018, at 5 p.m. in room 105, Franco Building.
Penn State Berks students are traveling around the world to help communities touched by natural and manmade disasters as part of the Alternative Spring Break program. This is the story of the most recent alternative spring break trip to Puerto Rico written by Penn State Berks student Chelsea Watts who recently returned from the trip.
The Penn State Berks Human Movement and Research Center will host the college’s second annual National Biomechanics Day from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 11. Approximately 125 high school students and chaperones are registered for the program.
The FirstEnergy Foundation, solely funded by FirstEnergy Corp., has donated $175,000 to support the Penn State College of Engineering’s Learning Factory Senior Capstone Design Projects at the University Park, Behrend and Berks campuses. The gift includes $25,000 of direct support for student research in the Penn State Berks Learning Factory.
The Penn State Berks Center for Service Learning and Community-Based Research, which is led by Laurie Grobman, professor of English and women’s studies, has received the 2018 Penn State Award for Community Engagement and Scholarship.
Edward H. Wiswesser, 100, died on March 3, 2018. He was the oldest alumnus of Penn State Berks. Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Reading High School and went on to earn an associate degree in the Junior Engineering Program of Wyomissing Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in 1937. WPI’s facilities were offered to Penn State for the establishment of a commonwealth campus in 1958, and the University granted WPI graduates full Penn State alumni status. Wiswesser remained an active member of the WPI alumni group up until his death.
On April 24, the college will host a Penn State Berks Night at the Fightin’ Phils when they take on the Akron RubberDucks beginning at 6:35 p.m. at FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading. Game tickets include an all-you-can-eat buffet. In addition, Chancellor Hillkirk will throw out the first pitch. This event is part of a year-long celebration held by Penn State Berks in honor of its 60th anniversary. It is open to students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of the college.
Penn State Berks students, Olivet Boys and Girls Club children, and community members will join together to clean up Baer Park and a one-mile section of the Schuylkill River Trail from 4 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 20. The rain date is Friday, April 27.
Two Penn State Berks engineering students are tackling the issue of plastic waste by using it as filament for 3-D printers. Their team, Trimatis, is one of six finalists competing in this year’s Inc.U competition, sponsored by Penn State’s Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP). The finalists earned a spot on WPSU’s "The Investment" television show where they will pitch their ideas in a "Shark Tank"-style format to a panel of judges for a chance to win investment funding. The show will air on WPSU-TV on April 7.
