Program's return already sparking outside interest

Monday, August 14, 2006 Transportation issues and advanced manufacturing will be the focus. By HAROLD GWIN VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER YOUNGSTOWN — The rebirth of Youngstown State University's materials engineering program isn't scheduled to begin until fall 2007, but prospective students and companies interested in being a part of the program are already calling. The recent announcement that YSU has been awarded about $2 million in federal transportation funds over four years to start a University Transportation Center has sparked that interest, said Dr. Cynthia S. Hirtzel, dean of the William Rayen College of Engineering and Technology, which will run the program. The University Transportation Center, under the theme, "Transportation: Mobility, Longevity and Sustainability," will be a part of the engineering program, serving as the primary outside funding source for the new Materials Engineering & Advanced Manufacturing Initiative, she said. It will augment the program's research and development component, she said. All of the courses for the materials engineering program have been approved by both the engineering college curriculum committee and the YSU Faculty Senate, Hirtzel said. A draft of the curriculum is expected to go through the same approval process this school year so the program can be launched in fall 2007, she said. That doesn't mean students interested in materials engineering should wait until then to enroll. All engineering majors are required to take certain basic courses as freshmen, and students can enroll this fall, taking those courses this academic year in preparation for the start of the program next fall, Hirtzel said. The program is expected to attract at least 20 new students each year. Materials engineering at YSU was eliminated in the early-to-mid-1990s and the College of Engineering and Technology was down to just a single materials engineering faculty member. A second has now been hired, and an instructor hired last year for civil engineering will also handle some materials engineering classes, Hirtzel said. Building partnerships The program won't work solely on transportation issues. "A lot of this is about partnerships," Hirtzel said, explaining that YSU seeks to form joint operations with local companies and other entities, both to enhance the educational opportunities for students and to help those companies succeed and expand. That's the economic development component of the program, she said, citing, as an example, an arrangement with FirelineTCON that is looking at a new casting process. The college will also be working with the Ohio Department of Transportation in developing materials for the rebuilding of roads around Meander Reservoir, she said. YSU has been designated to receive at least $430,000 a year in Transportation Center funding for four years (if it continues to meet government funding requirements), but could get as much as $500,000 per year, Hirtzel said. The university has to match those funds dollar for dollar and will be able to do that through instructor salary costs and other program contributions, including internship money secured by YSU for students participating in the program, she said. Although a key focus will be on transportation issues such as making better, lighter and stronger road and bridge-building materials, materials engineering will also focus on advanced engineering, Hirtzel said. That offers openings into all kinds of manufacturing, including things like medical and flood control applications, that companies would like to bring to market, she said. It also includes so-called "green engineering," looking for ways to build things with a less intrusive impact on the environment, she said. gwin@vindy.com