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FLATE and the Florida Association for Career and Technical Education (FACTE) are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2017 FLATE Awards! The Awards represent FLATE’s efforts to recognize leaders who have been at the forefront of manufacturing workforce education and training. This is the tenth year of the Awards program, and is one of FLATE’s many efforts to showcase and recognize the contributions of educators and industries in advancing technician education and training on a regional and statewide level. The 2017 FLATE Award recipients are: James Maynard , Teacher and Director of the Manufacturing Academy at Pine Ridge High School, will receive the Secondary Educator of the Year Award.       Sam Ajlani , Associate Professor and Program Manager for the Engineering Technology degree at the College of Central Florida will receive the Post-Secondary Educator of the Year Award. Robert Adamiak , Executive Director of the Mid-Florida Regional Manufacturers Association will receive Dis

This summer, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and the Florida Department of Education (FL DOE) added several NIMS (National Institute for Metalworking) credentials to the state’s secondary school funding list. We are excited to have these new additional acceleration pathways for students in manufacturing career programs. Anyone who holds these current NIMS credentials can get credit towards several 2-year degree programs including the A.S. degree in Engineering Technology that supports Florida’s manufacturing industry sector. This is great news for students in all the high school and post secondary machining programs that earn NIMS credentials in those programs. Ed Doherty, Precision Machining Lead Instructor at Suncoast Technical College in Sarasota says “This will provide a great pathway for some of my students considering an Associate’s degree. I can’t wait to share the opportunity with them this fall. There are always a couple grads from my program that want to

It’s that time of the year to adjust your lens and focus your attention on Manufacturing Day/Month—a nationwide event to celebrate American Manufacturing. In Florida Manufacturing Month, which is celebrated annually in October, has played a dominant role with the state leading the nation in the number of industry tours hosted for middle and high school students. This year FloridaMakes and its network of Regional Manufacturers Associations are taking the lead in organizing statewide industry tours and events that kick starts on MFG Day which is October 6! There are several ways to participate and be part of this national phenomenon. Outlined below are a few priority “TO DO” items to get the ball rolling on your regional efforts: Industry Tours: Contact your local school district and/or regional manufacturers associations right away to plan your industry tours.  Tour Resources: Review Educational/Tour Resources on the FLATE Wiki : FLATE has compiled an extensive portfolio of educationa

Every summer, FLATE hosts several robotics and engineering technology Camps at Hillsborough Community College’s (HCC) Brandon campus for middle and high students. Each camp lasts five days, and takes students on an in-depth exploration of some of the most recent technologies used in high-tech manufacturing environments. The summer camps are a challenging, but exciting way for students to explore and learn about robotics and STEM in a high-tech manufacturing context. “I wanted to know what it would be like to be in a robotics team, and that’s what got me interested in this camp” stated a camper in a pre-camp survey conducted by FLATE. “I liked that this camp showed us step-by-step how to program the robot and piece it together” stated another camper. Each camp presented students with hands-on activities that were geared to develop real-world skills in programming, and give them a hands-on exploration of STEM-related topics in robotics. Students also got to learn about 3D modeling and pr

The statewide A.S. degree in Engineering Technology just expanded its frontiers with Florida Keys Community College’s latest degree addition, an Associate in Science (A.S.) in Engineering Technology in Renewable Energy. The two-year degree provides a broad, versatile foundation in engineering, plus specialized career training for fast-growing, high paying careers in solar, wind, and hydropower technologies. Students will benefit from real-world practice in professional internships at partnering organizations that are located as nearby as Stock Island and as far away as Australia. New students are required to submit their application no later than August 3 in order to begin classes this fall semester, which begins August 18. Scholarships and payment plans are available. For more information, visit www.fkcc.edu/engineeringtechnology or contact FKCC’s Office of Recruitment at 305-809-3207 or recruiter@fkcc.edu. FKCC’s A.S. degree in in engineering technology was developed with assistance

  The Puzzle:   http://flate-mif.blogspot.com/2017/06/s-te-m-at-work-puzzle-60.html Analysis Technician rebuilds positive displacement pumps for a customer that uses pumps to transport viscous fluids.   The Tech knows customer uses their pumps to move a fluid that gets thicker when the pump applies more pressure on that moving fluid. This puzzle can trigger discussions at multiple levels: an introduction to viscosity and the simple recognition that curve (a) is not linear combined with puzzle clue (see last month for complete puzzle wording) that constant viscosity curves are linear;   the visual (approximate) slope, m, calculations, y=mx for both curves;   a discussion of curve shape implication when both models demand that Stress = (Viscosity)(Shear Rate) but viscosity changes; implication that more Stress must be applied as fluid gets thicker to have the same Shear Rate as constant viscosity fluid.   The most intense lesson includes Newton's law for Viscosity and fully developed

  Every year, Bay Area Manufacturers Association (BAMA) hosts a Scholarship, STEM, and Awards dinner to support manufacturing education. This event highlights one of BAMA’s primary initiatives, which is to support education through scholarships and STEM programs. The BAMA Scholarship program helps provide financial assistance to deserving high school students and post-secondary students from Hillsborough and Pinellas counties who wish to attend college, or a technical education center to pursue a manufacturing, or technology-related career. This year, BAMA recognized the winners of the 2017 BAMA Scholarships, Science and Engineering Fair winners, and many more STEM programs. The event also provided attendees a chance to meet the scholarship winners, and learn how the award will help them achieve their goal in a manufacturing discipline, whether it be engineering technology, or a skilled trade certification. Attendees also got a chance to watch the winners of the science fair present t