PSU receives a “BIG” donation! The donation from Caterpillar and Martin Tractor Co. is literally a big donation. It comes in the form of a Caterpillar

160M motorgrader. The motorgrader is one of the most recognizable pieces of construction equipment. It is used world

wide for road construction and maintenance, snow removal and many other operations. The 160M represents some of the

most advanced equipment design from Caterpillar. Instead of the traditional steering wheel and multiple levers for hy-

draulic control, the 160M utilizes two joysticks to control

almost all operations on the equipment. Some items of

note; the 160M weighs in at around 35,000 pounds, is

equipped with Caterpillar’s ACERT engine, is about 30

feet long and has an estimated cost of $435,000. On Fri-

day, February 8th, Harry Craig, President of Martin

Tractor, representatives of Caterpillar and nearly a

dozen PSU alumni who work for Martin Tractor at-

tended the presentation. Mr. Craig handed the keys to

the motorgrader to PSU President Dr. Tom Bryant. The

160M will allow PSU Diesel Heavy Equipment students

to get up close and personal with this technology. It will

be utilized within the Advanced Diesel and Advanced

Hydraulics courses. We are very fortunate to have this

level of commitment from industry. This type of donation

allows PSU to provide our students some of the latest

trends and advances in the industry.

Pittsburg State University Spring 2008 Edition

Department of Automotive Technology

Newsletter Spring 2008

Collision Repair and Insurance Management Students Tour Famers Insurance

The Collision Repair and Insurance Management program is wrapping up a second year at PSU, and John Thompson

could not be more pleased with the relationships, friendships, and support from industry. "We have a VERY unique

program. No other schools offer a Bachelors degree in Collision Repair and Insur-

ance Management like we do. In doing this our graduates are highly sought after

for jobs in this growing industry. Our students land on their feet because of the

balance between business classes and the automotive classes we incorporate into

our curriculum." It has come with hard work and great students. This is what pro-

pelled Farmers Insurance to reach out to PSU and invite students of the program

to not only tour their amazing facility in Olathe Kansas, but to also allow student

the opportunity to sit in on live phone cnversations and experience real world

work going on at Farmers. Ryan Bradley, Staff Manager of the Total Loss Unit,

coordinated a 4 hour tour of the facility, making stops in every department and

giving incite into what they do. With over 3000 employees in the Kansas City

area, Farmers (a three time winner of the JD Powers Award of Excellence) is one of the biggest and most dynamic

companies in the industry. Farmers is currently undergoing an expansion in Olathe to house a brand new Total Loss

office which will handle the central region of the country. The potential for placement is extraordinary, and Farmers

allows employees to work in any facet of the company. PSU and Farmers Insurance have a strong alliance, and that’s

no accident!

Spring 2008 Edition Page 2

Alan Mulally, President and CEO of Ford Motor Company presents at BCCC

Tuesday evening, March 25th 2008, Matthew Keller and Bob Frisbee drove to Butler County Community College in El Dorado, KS to hear a presentation by Alan Mulally the CEO of Ford. A former executive vice president of the Boeing Company and President and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Mulally was named one of "The Best Leaders of 2005" by Business Week magazine and in 2006 was Aviation Week's "Person of the Year." Mr. Mullaly is a native Kan-san and his wife's family is from El Dorado. He spoke of the Ford's current posi-tion and its future. He also spoke of the global economy and the future of energy and transportation. Matthew and Bob had a chance to meet him, tell him about PSU and get their picture taken with him.

Baja Update

The PSU SAE Baja team is busy building

two new cars to compete in the SAE Illinois

Baja competition. This year’s team is com-

prised of 23 College of Technology Students

led by Scott Brown and Grant Gabel. The

competition will be held at the Caterpillar

Edwards Proving Grounds May 29-31.

Fourteen PSU students will be making the

trip joined by eight students from Gyeong-

sang National University. The event is full

with 115 teams from five different countries

competing for the same trophy.

Drag Racing team

Update

The Pittstate dragster is fi-

nally coming to the end of it’s

rebuilding stage. The body work

is completed and the driveline is

currently being installed. They

hope to have the car on the

track for the beginning of next

school year. They would like to

thank all their sponsors for

their generous support of the

team.

Exceptional Automotive Senior Awards

3.7 GPA or Higher

Matthew Barkdull Frontenac, KS

Scott Brown Raymore, Mo

Cody Killmer Pittsburg, KS

Preston Mckinney Shawnee, KS

Nicolaus Prelogar Pittsburg, KS

Jeremy Pugh Irwin, MO

Derek Vanhouten Cherokee, KS

Automotive Distinguished Senior Award

3.4 to 3.7GPA

Bradley Asbury

Phillip Besperat

Brandon Brzozowski

Patick Dineen

Robert Dinkel

Jacob Ellis

Aaron Heady

Brandon Krauhn

James Leifer

Aaron Monhollon

Brant Ness

Eric Richardson

Robert Simonic

Spring 2008 Edition Page 3

Pete J. Holman Award

In April, Zack Palmquist received the Pete J. Holman Outstanding Diesel Senior Award. Zack came to Pittsburg State

University in the fall of 2006. Being around Caterpillar equipment his entire life, it was an easy choice for Zack to pursue

a career around Caterpillar machines. In 2003, Zack was hired by Peterson Tractor and attended the Caterpillar Dealer-

ship Technician Program “ThinkBIG”, at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, California. ThinkBIG is a 2-year train-

ing program that combines classroom work with hands-on learning in the field and in state-of-the-art labs, so students

see technologies in real-world applications—solving problems and helping Caterpillar customers get their jobs done.

Upon graduation of ThinkBIG in May 2005, Zack continued to work for Peterson Tractor in Redding California and as a

technician in the shop and field service. After putting in 4500 hours of on the job training at Peterson Tractor, he felt he

that he had the potential to go further with his education. Zack came to the conclusion that expanding his education

would enhance his career options. ThinkBIG participants are offered the opportunity to extend their education and

training with the ThinkBIGGER program. While there are 17 ThinkBIG programs throughout the world, there is only

one ThinkBIGGER program, and that is the one here at Pittsburg State University. Attending Pittsburg State University

gave Zack the necessary courses that are beneficial for preparation to management. As a student in ThinkBIGGER, Zack

had the opportunity to interview for an internship at Caterpillar. However, internships at Caterpillar are limited, and

there is stiff competition with fellow classmates and other colleges nationwide. Zack

was accepted for an eight-month internship, working in the Marketing and Product

Support Division, starting in January 2007. Working within Caterpillar as part of the

Repair Process Engineering Group, he tested transmissions and torque converters, cre-

ating Bench Test Procedures for Caterpillar dealer technicians to follow. Additionally,

he authored materials at Caterpillar for SIS web, and also provided dealer support for

installation and tooling. This experience at Caterpillar provided Zack the opportunity

to work in a corporate environment, work on team projects, and be a team player. In

May, Zack will be graduating with a Bachelors of Applied Science and a Minor in Busi-

ness Administration. Starting in June, he will return to Peoria to work for Caterpillar

full time. He will begin a 13 week Technical Marketing Professional Development Ro-

tational Program that will lay the foundation for becoming a Caterpillar Field Service

Representative.

Eugene V. Gardener Award

Shawn Winkler received the 2008 Eugene V. Gardner Outstanding Senior Award this semester. Shawn graduated high

school from Nemaha Valley High in 2004. Bruce Stanley was a great influence for Shawn to attend PSU. Bruce, an Auto-

motive Instructor at Nemaha Valley, has provided PSU with back to back Outstanding Seniors. Growing up in Seneca,

KS, he showed strong interest in building things with his hands and being able to metal fabricate. Shawn has been heav-

ily involved with Mini Baja. In 2006, he was elected treasurer of the Korea Baja team. He

was successful in South Korea as he earned 1st place in the Cost Analysis report along with

1st in the Endurance race. Following his return, he was elected President of the PSU Baja

team where he captained the largest team in PSU history while building two successful baja

cars. Promptly after competition, he was an intern for Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A in Califor-

nia for the summer where he worked in the Technical Training Department. Returning from

Toyota, Shawn took the role of Senior Graduate Assistant of eight GNU Baja team members

at PSU, where they plan to compete at the end of May in Illinois. For the summer of 2008,

Shawn took an internship with Allied Insurance as the Northeast Kansas Claim Represen-

tative. Shawn will graduate this May with two emphasis areas in Service Management and

Collision Repair/Insurance Management with a minor in business administration. Along

with Mini Baja, he has been involved in PSU Off-Road club, Drag Team, SAE, and KTC Am-

bassadors. He has also been selected as the graduate assistant for the 2008 year while re-

maining at PSU to obtain his MBA degree.

Laptops Donated for the Diesel Lab

PSU’s diesel lab was in need of some laptop computers in order to utilize manufacturer’s diagnostic software. Students

could use the laptops to communicate with the electronically controlled diesel engines and to better understand the

OEM’s control systems and their diagnostic software. Dave Sbaffi and John Bader at Granite Construction Inc. came to

the rescue. They donated two of their used laptops. The computers were only three years old because Granite replaces

their computers every three years, these will work great for our application. One laptop computer has been loaded with

Detroit Diesel diagnostic software and the other has International Diagnostic Software. Students utilized both of the

computers in the Advanced Diesel class this spring.

Dr. John Iley, Chairman 620 235-4373 jIley@pittstate.edu

Administrative Assistant 620 235-6189 Fax: 620 235-6189

Automotive/Diesel Technology (4 Year)

Dr. Roger Adams, Professor 620 235-4386

radams@pittstate.edu

Dr. Robert Frisbee, Assoc. Professor 620 235-4380

rlfrisbe@pittstate.edu

(Automotive Coordinator)

Dr. Tim Dell, Asst. Professor 620 235-4182

tdell@pittstate.edu

(Diesel & Heavy Equipment Coordinator)

Mr. Ron Downing, Asst. Professor 620 235-4825

rdowning@pittstate.edu

Mr. Ken Gordon, Professor 620 235-4378

kgordon@pittstate.edu

Mr. Bob Schroer, Instructor 620 235-6126

rschroer@pittstate.edu

Mr. John Thompson, Instructor 620 235-6516

jthompso@pittstate.edu

Department of Automotive Technology

Pittsburg State University

1701 S. Broadway

Pittsburg, KS 66762-7566

Department of Automotive Techn

ology Contacts 2008 PSU Automotive & Diesel Calendar

May 14-15 Ford AAA student auto skills & ulti-

mate master tech challenge for KS & MO, (KS

Speedway)

May 16 - PSU spring semester ends

May 16 - College of Technology Graduation 7:30pm,

Weed Gymnasium

May 18-23 Caterpillar ThinkBIG Conferrence,

Okumulgee, OK & Pitt State

May 19-June 6 - Intercession classes AT

June 9 - Summer 2008 semester begins

June 22-28 - National Skills USA Competition

(Kansas City, KS)

July 18-20 Four State Farm Show (Pittsburg, KS)

Aug 1 - Summer semester ends

Aug 25 - Fall semester begins

Sep 25 - Fall career fair

Oct 23-24 - Fall break

Nov 26-28 - Thanksgiving Holiday

We’re on the w

eb!

http://www.pittstate.edu/autotech

Dr. John Iley, Chairman 620 235-4373 jIley@pittstate.edu

Administrative Assistant 620 235-6189 Fax: 620 235-6189

Automotive/Diesel Technology (4 Year)

Dr. Roger Adams, Professor 620 235-4386 radams@pittstate.edu

Dr. Robert Frisbee, Assoc. Professor 620 235-4380 rlfrisbe@pittstate.edu

(Automotive Coordinator)

Dr. Tim Dell, Asst. Professor 620 235-4182 tdell@pittstate.edu

(Diesel & Heavy Equipment Coordinator)

Mr. Ron Downing, Asst. Professor 620 235-4825 rdowning@pittstate.edu

Mr. Ken Gordon, Professor 620 235-4378 kgordon@pittstate.edu

Mr. Bob Schroer, Instructor 620 235-6126 rschroer@pittstate.edu

Mr. John Thompson, Instructor 620 235-6516 jthompso@pittstate.edu

Mr. Matthew Keller, Instructor 620 325-6515 mkeller@pittstate.edu

Mr. Scott Norman, Instructor 620 235-4826 rnorman@pittstate.edu

Automotive Service (2 Year) Mr. Perry Cummins, Professor 620 235-4827 pcummins@pittsate.edu

(Program Coordinator)

Mr. Trent Lindbloom, Instructor 620 235-4198 tjlindbl@pittstate.edu