ASTE - ASTE

Congratulations Graduates!

taylor.adams@usu.edu (Taylor Adams) — Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 MST

Congratulations to the graduates in the School of Applied Sciences, Technology and Education. This year we had the largest number of graduates in ASTE history. Please see below for media relating to this special occasion.

School of Applied Sciences, Technology and Education student pictures
- password: goaggies
College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences ceremony video (coming soon)
USU Graduate Ceremony Photo Scrapbook
Graduate ceremony video (coming soon)
USU Undergraduate Ceremony Photo Scrapbook
Undergraduate Ceremony video (coming soon)
Commencement speaker Charlie Denson

ASTE Peer Advisor Awarded

taylor.adams@usu.edu (Taylor Adams) — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:00:00 MST

Ashlee Diamond was named Outstanding Peer Advisor at Utah State University for her work in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences (CAAS) as the peer advisor for the School of Applied Sciences, Technology and Education (ASTE).

Diamond, and Agricultural Education student, has served the ASTE department as a peer advisor for two years and is completing her last week in the position as she will be student teaching in Spring 2014.

The Peer Advising Program at USU is managed and funded by University Advising. Peer advisors are exemplary students chosen to work in various academic departments throughout the university. Two outstanding peer advisors were named for 2012-2013.

Diamond was nominated by her department to receive the award and completed a portfolio that included supporting documents and letters of recommendation.

"Ashlee handles our diverse department with ease, understanding and always a smile," said Taylor Adams, Advisor for ASTE. "Her most admirable quality is her ability to be a student advocate."

As part of her role Diamond met with students in the ASTE department, maintained records for ASTE, and recruited students at open houses and major fairs.

Additionally, Diamond served the College of Agriculture Academic Senator, participated in Collegiate FFA and Alpha Tau Alpha, and was recently a recipient of the Outstanding Student award, presented by Kiwanis.

Diamond accepted a summer horticulture internship position with AgReserves. She will work in the labs and fields at AgriNorthwest in Washington state. She graduates in May 2014 in Agricultural Education and hopes to teach agriculture.

Agricultural Education Student Named Top Under Graduate Teaching Fellow

dawn.otterby@aggiemail.usu.edu (Dawn Otterby) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:00:00 MST

Colby Smith was named outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Fellow (UTF) of the year in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences.

Throughout the semester Smith assisted Professor Michael Pate and his students in Metal Welding Processes and Technology in Agriculture (ASTE 3030) class during Fall 2012.

Colby’s responsibilities for ASTE 3030 included scheduling laboratory clean-up assignments for students, developing new laboratory assignments, and assisting students in the lab.

“Colby is extremely diligent and committed to student learning,” Pate said. “He strived to help students complete the assignments correctly, accurately and safely.”

Smith, and Agricultural Education student, said he learned a lot about his future career as an agriculture teacher during his time as a UTF.

“I learned a lot about how to run a lab and teach at different skill levels,” Smith said. “I learned how to relate what I’m teaching and apply it.”

Pate presented Smith with a plaque and a monetary reward at an awards banquet on April 11, which also honored eight other UTFs from colleges in the university.

Click here to read the more about the UTF program.

Student Blog Updates

dawn.otterby@aggiemail.usu.edu (Dawn Otterby) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 MST

Check out what our students have been doing

USU-Backed Teams Headed to VEX Robotics World Championship

McCarty.Hatfield@usu.edu (McCarty Hatfield) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 00:00:00 MST

Two teams from Utah State University’s Design Academy will compete in the high school and middle school divisions of the VEX Robotics World Championship in Anaheim, CA., April 17-20, along with a team of university students who will represent USU in the college division.

One of the teams robots

The Design Academy is offered as an after school activity to local middle and high school students interested robot design. VEX Robotics is an international program and competitions were first introduced to Utah by Gary Stewardson, associate professor in USU’s School of Applied Sciences, Technology and Education (ASTE). Local competitions have have since expanded to include schools from Wyoming, Idaho, and Colorado.

The VEX Robotics World Championship will host over 500 middle school, high school, and college teams from more than 20 countries. Throughout the competition season the teams have used VEX robotics parts to design and build robots specifically for this year’s “Sack Attack” game. The competition, which takes place in a 12-by-12 foot arena, involves two pairs of allied teams working against each other to use their robots to gather and stack bean bags in various goals. Defense also comes into play as teams try to remove bags from their opponents’ goals, protect their own goals and block others from scoring. Robots work autonomously for the first 15 seconds of the round and are then driven by a team member for the remaining time 2 minutes.

The Design Academy qualifiers are two of seven Mountain Region teams that qualified for the world championships. Other teams from Utah that will compete at the tournament are from Davis High School and Monticello-based Raptor Robotics. A team from Two Rivers High School in Ogden has also been invited to the event for their outstanding entry in a video challenge to promote the robotics program. The program and world championship has grown rapidly in recent years. “It’s the fastest growing robotics competition and the largest…It’s not only taking off here in Utah, but all over the world,” said Stewardson, who estimates that more than 7,000 teams competed to qualify for Worlds this year.

For the mentors of the students, the VEX competitions are a fun gateway to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). “There’s a lot of educational value behind it,” said Stewardson, who explained that students are learning about a lot more than programming and design.

“They’re developing what we call soft skills: The ability to work cooperatively in a team, the ability to communicate your ideas,” explained

Trevor Robinson

Stewardson, who believes these skills are becoming increasingly important in the STEM fields.

Because of the structure of the competition students must learn to share responsibilities within their own team and learn to work well with their competitors, who they may be allied with during the competition and with whom they may not share a language. “They develop a level of confidence and self-efficacy because students have to communicate with other students and cooperate,” said Stewardson.

Trevor Robinson, a PhD student from Caledonia, Ohio, is both a member of the college team and a Design Academy instructor, working with the middle and high school teams. He is right next to them coaching and tournaments, helping them develop strategies and advising them on their designs and construction, but the process is largely for team members to decide for themselves.

“The biggest difference in working with both teams is that the middle school and high school kids are just learning about design and engineering concepts and most of the college team members have learned about those in classes,” Robinson said. “The college students have the theory, but this is all very hands on.”

No question about Robinson’s favorite aspect of coaching younger students: the excitement of winning. “Seeing the kids win is the best,” he said. “They get so excited and they want to win everything. It really encourages them to work hard.”

Several of the college team members

Though based in the ASTE Department, USU’s college VEX team has attracted students with an array of skills and interests. “We have students from mechanical engineering, computer science, computer engineering and tech ed, and we also have a pre vet student and an English major,” Robinson said. “Everyone brings something to the team.”

The common thing they have all contributed to the team is time: and all of it outside their classes, homework and jobs. Robinson estimates the three robots going to the college division of the tournament ? which, on average, are the results of four iterations of each robot ? represent more than 600 hours of work in the lab.

The VEX Robotics World Championship kicks off on Wednesday, April 17 and the champions of each division will be determined at the end of the three days of qualifying rounds. The event includes an evening highlighted by the much-anticipated unveiling of the rules and objectives for next year’s game. That means, win or lose, students will already be sketching ideas for next year’s robots on the trip back home to Utah.

UPDATE (5/2/13): Design Academy and USU teams made an excellent showing at the VEX Robotics World Championship. The USU team finished 5th among the 52 college teams at the competition the team also brought home two trophies in special categories: this year's Amaze Award, given to a team that has produced "an amazing, well rounded and top performing robot" and the college Robot Skills Award.

Team 1497 B ended their qualifying rounds rands ranked 21st of 84 teams in their division of the high school competition. They were selected to compete in an alliance for their division finals and were not eliminated until their last semi-final match.

Team 1497B ranked 8th out of 80 middle school teams in their division after competing in 10 qualifying rounds. That positioned them to be an alliance captain in their division's quarter-final rounds.

One of the competition's big events was the unveiling of next year's VEX game: Toss Up. Team members are already at work creating design concepts for the new challenge. The Design Academy and USU team welcome inquiries from any prospective new team members who would like the experience of designing, building, programming and operating robots in very competitive international league. For more information, contact Gary.Stewardson@usu.edu.

Writers: Elaine Taylor and Lynnette Harris, 435-797-2189

Contact: Gary Stewardson, 435-797-1802

Senior Project Showcase

dawn.otterby@aggiemail.usu.edu (Dawn Otterby) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 00:00:00 MST

Students enrolled in ASTE 4900: Senior Project Research and Creative Opportunity presented their senior projects Thursday, April 11. Each student was required to plan a project that related to his or her field of study.
Dustin Larsen: For his project Larsen designed and built a dual-heat outdoor grill. The cylinder grill is half propane and half charcoal. Whileworking on his project, Larsen struggled with setting up the propane tank and gages.
	Mason Anderson: An eight-light mule deer antler chandelier was the project Anderson chose to design and build. In order to wire the lights, Anderson had to hollow out the antlers and then use putty to fill in any unsightly holes and gaps. Using the skills he had learned in his electricity class (ASTE 2200), Anderson was able to wire the lights and complete his project.
Ryan Adams: Using knotty alder wood, Adams designed and built a glass-front gun cabinet. Adams said design and precise measurementswere key in the construction of his project. Applying skills he’d learned in Dr. Pate’s structures class (ASTE 4100), Adams was able to construct a stable cabinet.
	Tyson Ralphs: Skills he learned in welding (ASTE 3030) helped Ralphs construct his steel, adjustable table. The table is designed to sit next to a cattle chute. In addition to two adjustable, flat surfaces, the table also has two lights and two electrical sockets.
Ryan Crawford: After finishing his ammunition reload table, Crawford realized poor planning made his project much more difficult. He learned that the next time he starts a project, he will be sure to have a design and plan in place.
	Thomas Bleazard: Designing and creating an adjustable table to be used under classroom dot cameras brought a unique set of challenges for Bleazard. In addition to making sure everything was square, Bleazard also had to make sure his welds produced an even, level surface. He used skills he’d learned from welding (ASTE 3030) and structures (ASTE 4100) to help complete the table.
Skylar Stewart: Starting with the basic structure of a child’s jogging stroller, Stewart created a portable spray boom trainer. The project will beused as a teaching a tool for Richard Beard, a professor in the School of Applied Sciences, Technology and Education. The sprayer is designed to help farmers understand and visualize precision spraying. The creating a portable design was the most difficult part of the project, Stewart said. Making sure everything fit correctly but could also be broken down helped developed Stewart’s welding skills.
	Sarah Hatch: Unlike other senior projects, Hatch has spent her last semester developing a public relations plan for Ohio’s Clinton County Water Conservation Board. Hatch designed and created a newsletter format and a logo. She also designed multiple websites for the conservation board and will soon make the website public.

ASTE Annual Banquet

dawn.otterby@aggiemail.usu.edu (Dawn Otterby) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 00:00:00 MST

Ag Education Student Excels in Utah FFA

dawn.otterby@aggiemail.usu.edu (Dawn Otterby) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 00:00:00 MST

Utah State University student Calee Lott has been working hard to become a prominent face in the Utah FFA Association. Lott was recently awarded the Agricultural Education Proficiency Award and was also selected to be the Vice President for the Utah FFA Association.

According to the National FFA Organization, the proficiency award is given to students who, through Supervised Agricultural Experiences (SAEs), have developed specialized skills they can apply to their future careers.

“SAEs is the hands on part of agricultural education,” Lott said. “It's what allows students to experience career opportunities within agriculture.”

Through the SAEs program Lott has been able to improve her teaching skills.

“Calee’s SAE focused on youth mentoring, presentations to school-aged youth, assisting her agriculture teacher and educating others about the FFA,” said Becki Lawver, the Collegiate FFA advisor at USU.

Lott invested about 2,300 hours into her SAEs project. To qualify for the award, Lott was also required to complete an application.

“The contest required me to fill out an application, which consists of about 12 essay questions explaining what skills I have gained, my future goals and details about my project,” Lott said.

In addition to receiving the proficiency award, Lott was also selected to be the vice president for Utah FFA. Twenty students were interviewed but only six were chosen to be state officers. Applicants were required to write a speech, work in teams to create a presentation and complete a written test. They were judge on performance, leadership abilities and personality.

Lott said her education at USU was instrumental in preparing her for the state officer competition.

“Dr. Lawver's Intro to Ag Ed class helped me by teaching me so much about FFA,” Lott said. “She introduced me to the importance of FFA and the impact that it can have on a person's life.”

As vice president Lott will be responsible for representing FFA throughout Utah and on a national level.

“I am excited to attend a leadership conference in Washington D.C.” Lott said. “I will also be given the opportunity to serve as a delegate for the state of Utah at National Convention in Louisville, Ky.”

Lott will also work with high school FFA student inside Utah and help organize the 2014 State FFA Convention.

“She will travel the state visiting high school FFA chapters and make connections with thousands of FFA members in Utah,” Lawver said.

Lott said being a state FFA officer is an honor.

“I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve the organization that changed my life,” Lott said.

USU Aviation Celebrates Women in Aviation Worldwide Week

taylor.adams@usu.edu (Taylor Adams) — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 00:00:00 MST

The Utah State University Aviation Technology Program will celebrate Women of Aviation Worldwide Week with a Fly It Forward event for women interested in aviation from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, March 9.