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��Ͽ� Polytechnic students support Sierra Space’s lunar testing system

giffeyt — Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:30:00 +0000

��Ͽ� Polytechnic students support Sierra Space’s lunar testing system giffeyt July 15, 2026

Alum works with engineering students to improve lunar dust testing, bolstering NASA’s return to the moon

Through a collaboration with Sierra Space, a leading defense-tech space company, ��Ͽ� Polytechnic students are validating critical systems that may be part of missions that return humanity to the moon.

Under the mentorship of alumnus Todd Treichel, Ph.D., a principal manufacturing engineer at Sierra Space, students from ��Ͽ� Polytechnic’s Robert F. Cervenka School of Engineering have been developing methods to ensure that high-tech parts can survive in the harsh lunar environment.

The work comes at a time of revived public interest in space travel, thanks in large part to NASA’s successful Artemis II lunar flyby in April. Sierra Space has been actively developing In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) technologies, including developing a system to extract oxygen from lunar soil, as well as efforts to design inflatable space habitats and support activities for an upcoming Moon base.

For several years, ��Ͽ� Polytechnic students have been redesigning and improving a lunar dust testing chamber. The chamber is used to study how gray, gritty moon dust – technically known as “lunar regolith” – could impact components like gears and lighting elements.

��Ͽ� Polytechnic Sierra Space project research team, from left to right: Luke Stanelle, Heidi Benningfield, Sammie Kotek, Dominick Konkel and Todd Treichel.

“It is very encouraging to know that something our team worked on could impact future designs for lunar testing,” said Sammie Kotek, of New Prague, Minnesota, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. “Todd has given us an opportunity to highlight what we learn here at Stout and apply it to something that will reach very important projects. The redesign and testing of the dust chamber could help better design equipment that is being sent to the moon, and I think that’s pretty cool!”

From lab to lunar environment

On a Friday during the spring semester, Kotek was among several students who joined Treichel in a lab in Fryklund Hall to use the dust chamber to test two headlights intended for a moon rover. Colorado-based Sierra Space developed the lights, which are meant to be used on an unmanned rover.

While images from the Apollo missions may make moon dust appear light and fluffy, it’s anything but. Heidi Benningfield, who graduated in May with a mechanical engineering degree, described the substance as “jagged like a kidney stone.” Unlike dust on Earth, which is smoothed and rounded by wind and rain, lunar dust is like a fine, abrasive ash. It’s also electrically charged, Treichel explained, which means it sticks to things – something Apollo astronauts discovered in the 1960s.

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Over the past two years, a team of ��Ͽ� Polytechnic students have redesigned the lunar testing chamber to make it more functional: For instance, they added variable speeds to the fan that keeps the dust airborne, as well as added a method to keep the dust from settling. Benningfield and Kotek engineered structural components while controls and electrical components were the focus of senior Luke Stanelle, a computer and electrical engineering major from St. Paul; senior Noah Flood Elyafi, a computer and electrical engineering major from Orfordville; and 2025 mechanical engineering graduate Dominick Konkel, who now works at Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Chippewa Falls.

The process had two goals: Measuring how effectively the chamber could coat the headlight lenses with simulated moon dust and assessing how that dust impacts the light output of the lenses. The lenses were coated with a prototype material to prevent dust from accumulating. When compared with an uncoated control piece also placed in the testing chamber, the coating seems to have done its job, Treichel said.

Just as importantly, the chamber that the students designed did its job, too, which will usher in the next phase of the project.

“The ultimate goal would be to take what the students have done and up-scale the chamber size to accommodate larger-sized test articles,” Treichel said. He plans on having several ��Ͽ� Polytechnic students visit Sierra Space’s Madison location this summer to conduct further tests.

Sierra Space Principal Manufacturing Engineer Todd Treichel with the lunar dust testing chamber in a Fryklund Hall lab.

Mentor comes full circle

Treichel, who received his manufacturing engineering degree from ��Ͽ� Polytechnic in 1990, has worked for Sierra Space and its affiliate, Sierra Nevada Corporation, for 18 years. His experience spans manufacturing and design engineering as well as quality, reliability, and environmental testing. He has worked on everything from rocket engines and thrusters to Mars landers, specifically the Phoenix Lander, and payloads sent to the International Space Station.

A few years ago, Treichel was invited to become a member of his alma mater’s Mechanical Engineering Advisory Board. At the encouragement of faculty, he visited ��Ͽ� Polytechnic in the hopes of arranging a project between the university and Sierra Space. He connected with Benningfield, who he described as having an exemplary passion for aerospace, and she interned at Sierra Space and presented at the Wisconsin Space Conference in 2024. Benningfield later completed a three-month paid internship as a SMART Scholar Engineer with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

Last summer, Konkel made a keynote presentation about the lunar dust testing chamber at the conference, which is held annually by the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium, of which ��Ͽ� Polytechnic is an affiliate member.

Left: Dominick Konkel presents at the Wisconsin Space Conference. Right: Cannisters of lunar and Martian simulants. / Todd Treichel

“Being surrounded by so many brilliant minds and mind-blowing projects and knowing that the work I did earned the keynote spot at the conference was such an amazing achievement,” Konkel said.

“What I learned during this project will contribute to my future career through introducing me to topics that I have grown increasingly eager to explore,” continued Konkel, who plans to pursue a master’s degree in aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan. “These new topics will continue to drive me as I go to grad school and continue to drive deeper into the world of aerospace.”

The lunar dust chamber project grew out of a prototype that was developed about a decade ago, Treichel said. The original chamber prototype had several limitations and was put on pause. However, the launch of the Artemis program and NASA’s desire to return to the moon meant lunar dust testing was once again a relevant topic, and one that Treichel brought to ��Ͽ� Polytechnic students.

“The Stout team really took on an open-ended challenge where they were tasked with providing recommendations for design architecture, presenting them to Sierra Space, gaining approval, and then cut loose to design, build, and test,” Treichel said. The challenge was complex, he noted, involving the synthesis of mechanical and electrical engineering – precisely the interdisciplinary strength of ��Ͽ� Polytechnic’s polytechnic model.

“I found this transition to be most impressive because it represents the real world of aerospace design engineering,” he said. “The amount of electrical engineering was greater than originally planned, but the students figured it out and executed without hesitation.”

The lunar dust testing chamber developed by ��Ͽ� Polytechnic students is shown with containers of simulated lunar and Martian dust.

Kotek, who began working at Scott Equipment Company after graduation, said working on the project not only broadened her horizons but gave her valuable experience working across teams, as the testing chamber was frequently passed between the students as deadlines arrived and new features were added.

She lauded the mentorship Treichel has been able to provide because of his long experience in the aerospace field.

“His knowledge about general engineering and aerospace was highly valuable to my learning experience,” Kotek said. “He taught with a purpose and always wanted us to walk away from a conversation gaining something. He also valued our engineering process and never tried to take our project away from us. When doing projects like this, it’s nice to know that your mentor trusts you to get the job done and does not overstep.”

Treichel said working with students has given him a full-circle experience. “Having graduated from ��Ͽ�, it’s rewarding to work with the next generation of engineers, almost like handing off the baton in a relay race,” he said. “As a polytechnic university, hands-on work coupled with experimentation on prototype hardware really makes this a solid focus on a career-oriented skill that can one day serve the aerospace industry as well as others like it.”

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Student Reese Hufnagel and Professor Matthew Ray examine the material solutions and ‘designing for demise’ to counter public safety risks

Student’s research aims at space debris

The Sierra Space project isn’t the only space-related research going on at ��Ͽ� Polytechnic. In April, junior Reese Hufnagel presented her work on addressing the growing problem of space debris during the Research in the Rotunda event at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison.

Hufnagel, a chemistry major from Anoka, Minnesota, is working with Professor Matthew Ray to mitigate the risk of reentry debris from spacecraft and satellites. Ideally, materials like used rocket stages and old satellites burn up when they fall to earth. However, as stronger carbon-fiber materials have become more common and the number of rocket launches has increased dramatically in recent years, reentry debris has become much more common. To address this growing danger, Hufnagel and Ray have worked to create a catalytic additive that, when integrated into carbon-fiber materials, can cause them to disintegrate when they reach a specific trigger temperature at reentry.

To bolster their work, Hufnagel and Ray have conducted more than 50 interviews with people in the space industry, including experts at NASA, SpaceX and Sierra Space. The pair have also formed a startup to commercialize their work, and Hufnagel has received a research scholarship from the Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium. The pair also recently published an article about their research at The Conversation, an academic outline that rarely publishes work by authors who aren’t faculty members.

Hufnagel will be a panelist in August at the Wisconsin Space Conference this August in Kenosha. In the meantime, however, she will spend the summer as an intern at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

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��Ͽ� Polytechnic students support Sierra Space’s lunar testing system

Alum works with engineering students to improve lunar dust testing, bolstering NASA’s return to the moon

Ashley, Cadrex, Apogee among companies benefiting from engineering students’ prototypes

Capstone projects demonstrate mechanical, manufacturing know-how, leadership skills

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Alum works with engineering students to improve lunar dust testing, bolstering NASA’s return to the moon Sierra Space project team checks equipment

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Ashley, Cadrex, Apogee among companies benefiting from engineering students’ prototypes

giffeyt — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 12:45:05 +0000

Ashley, Cadrex, Apogee among companies benefiting from engineering students’ prototypesgiffeyt June 15, 2026

Capstone projects demonstrate mechanical, manufacturing know-how, leadership skills

Tom Giffey

��Ͽ� Polytechnic mechanical engineering student Dominick Marco faced several challenges when he became team leader for the second semester of a capstone project on behalf of Cadrex Manufacturing Solutions.

In addition to designing and building a prototype that would automatically assemble a plastic latch and a steel bracket into a completed part, Marco had to ensure that his six-member team stayed on track as the project deadline – and graduation – approached.

Marco wasn’t just learning engineering; he was learning leadership.

“I worked on delegating by asking questions rather than directing, and through this and similar techniques, I was able to stay up to date on my team’s progress while helping direct team members to work on important tasks without overstepping or feeling like I was micromanaging,” explained Marco, of Eleva.

“Working on a project like this with a team is a very valuable experience,” Marco continued. “Learning alongside other up-and-coming engineers has been an incredible two semesters.”

Students, faculty and industry representatives examine the prototype for Cadrex after the demonstration.

Such applied learning, which is key to the polytechnic mission that distinguishes ��Ͽ� Polytechnic, was on display in mid-May as mechanical engineering and manufacturing engineering seniors presented their capstone projects to industry leaders, faculty members and peers. These two-semester projects aren’t theoretical exercises. They lead to real, working prototypes designed to solve problems for industrial sponsors. In addition to Cadrex, one of the nation’s largest metal fabricating firms, corporate sponsors included Ashley Furniture, Tomahawk Manufacturing, Apogee Enterprises, Genesis Industries, Frost Inc. and Industrial Heat Transfer.

“This course sequence truly is a capstone on a student’s academic career at ��Ͽ� Polytechnic,” said Assistant Professor Nathan Spike, part of the capstone teaching team. “Over the two semesters, a student completes the transition from engineering student to a full-fledged, career-ready manufacturing or mechanical engineer – or, in some cases, both for students pursuing a dual major. Students can put what they have learned in these courses directly into practice as they transition into their engineering career.”

According to the university’s most recent First Destination Report, 100% of 2024-25 graduates from the manufacturing engineering program reported they were either employed or continuing their education within six months of graduation, with an average starting salary was $76,000. During the same period, mechanical engineering graduates had a 99% employment rate within six months and an average starting salary of $66,000.

A ��Ͽ� Polytechnic student adjusts piston positions in the prototype. / Submitted photo

Process teaches communication skills

At the culmination of the capstone process, second-semester teams offer presentations of their mechanical and manufacturing solutions, then demonstrate them. During their presentation, Marco and his team – fellow seniors Aiden Koepsel, Ben Swift, Will Schlafke, Darren Byle and Josiah Castleberg – described their project scope and how they reached their final design. Originally, they considered a conveyor belt to carry the two parts. However, this was ultimately replaced with static, angled ramps that bring the two pieces together to become the completed part, which ultimately will be used in a battery holder in a data rack enclosure.

Later, the Cadrex group and other capstone teams moved into a nearby lab in Fryklund Hall to demonstrate their projects. The Cadrex prototype, a single workstation on casters, came to life, smoothly combining the pieces into completed latches, which flowed into a plastic bin.

The prototype that students developed for Cadrex Manufacturing Solutions combined these two pieces into one component.

After the demonstration, team members chatted about the prototype with Wayne Greensky, an automation engineer at Cadrex’s Osceola plant, who provided technical input during the project. While the students had solid technical understanding when they began the project, what really grew over the course of two semesters was their communication skills, Greensky said.

“Communication with project stakeholders helps students shake off communication anxiety and prepares them for proper meeting etiquette, structure, and progress update communications, while also dealing with customer dictated deliverables,” Greensky said.

The ��Ͽ� Polytechnic students handled challenges – including bill of materials ordering and issues with electrical schematics – promptly and professionally, he added.

“This type of project is useful for getting engineering students comfortable with solving an unsolved problem,” Greensky explained. “Undergraduate degree curriculums typically do not prepare the students with coursework that does not have a ‘correct’ answer or solution method. This senior design experience fills that gap nicely.”

Students discuss a pallet destacker they designed on behalf of Ashley Furniture.

Efforts aimed at automation

During the spring semester, the Cadrex capstone group was just one of 13 teams composed of 83 students from ��Ͽ� Polytechnic’s Robert F. Cervenka School of Engineering who worked on projects in Fryklund Hall labs.

Senior Sawyer Boigenzahn, a manufacturing engineering major from Mondovi, was the first-semester team lead for a project to create an automated system to wash and dry extruded aluminum window frames for Apogee Enterprises, owner of the Wausau Windows and Walls brand.

The frames, Boigenzahn explained, are processed in a CNC machine and emerge covered in chips, coolant and cutting fluid. Currently, the parts must be washed by hand, which leads to inconsistent cycle times. Automation would improve the quality and consistency of the process, ultimately saving Apogee time and money.

The five-member team – which also included Boigenzahn, Logan Boettcher, Brody Bongaarts, Brooks Brewer, and Joseph Gardner – conceived of a device that operated something like a car wash, but they pondered whether the sprayer or the aluminum part itself should be what moves. Ultimately, Boigenzahn explained, they decided it was easier to move the part through the sprayers than vice versa.

Based on feedback from their end-of-semester presentation, the team will return to build a prototype of their design in the fall semester. “We are at the start of that process, because this is a very difficult process to automate,” he said.

Boigenzahn, who previously worked as a welder, said the capstone project is a reminder that engineering isn’t about a single input inevitably leading to a single output: It’s a practical discipline that involves hands-on craft.

“For us, it’s an experiment in terms of our ability to understand the mechanical and engineering principles that we’ve been taught and actually apply them in the real world,” Boigenzahn said. “And more importantly, when you encounter real world problems – including teamwork issues, design problems, people giving you conflicting advice – how do you try to solve them? The thing about design is that you can’t just plug it into a computer and it spits out the right answer. That is just not the way this works.”

Despite the challenging work involved in the capstone process, Boigenzahn said it’s ultimately a valuable part of the ��Ͽ� Polytechnic experience. “I don’t think Stout would stand out as much if we did not do these things,” he said.

Capstone students cut holes in an electrical box while building their prototype for Cadrex Manufacturing Solutions. / Submitted image

Teamwork connects students, faculty, industry partners

The capstone process is a team effort, and not just among the students: In addition to Spike, instructors include Senior Lecturer Glenn Bushedorf, Lecturer Anwr Albaghdadi, Lecturer Brandon Dick and Lecturer Niloofar Moradian, with technical support from Paul Craig, program director for manufacturing engineering.

And it’s an effort that leads to results for industry sponsors, Spike explained. “The prototypes students develop often serve as a starting point or otherwise inform the direction a company will go with their process or product,” he said.

In addition, two semesters of intensive, iterative capstone work provide invaluable experience for emerging engineers as they enter the job market.

“Getting the chance to be a part of a project like this and create such a cool prototype machine for Cadrex has honestly been one of the best experiences to date,” Marco said. “This is the largest, most expensive project I have ever been a part of, and it makes me emotional seeing it come to a close. I am sad knowing that I will most likely never see it after it ships away, but I am so very happy to have gotten to design, develop and assemble the prototype.”

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��Ͽ� Polytechnic students support Sierra Space’s lunar testing system

Alum works with engineering students to improve lunar dust testing, bolstering NASA’s return to the moon

Ashley, Cadrex, Apogee among companies benefiting from engineering students’ prototypes

Capstone projects demonstrate mechanical, manufacturing know-how, leadership skills

Inspiring Graduate: Thomas Shamla, B.S. Mechanical Engineering

Hired before graduation at Absolut Manufacturing

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Engineering seniors design portable toy tractor manufacturing machine to engage kids in making process

goersab — Tue, 05 May 2026 13:45:00 +0000

Engineering seniors design portable toy tractor manufacturing machine to engage kids in making processgoersab May 5, 2026

Capstone concludes three-year professorship, collaboration with Urban Forestry Board

Abbey Goers

While Wisconsin farmers are out in their tractors preparing their fields, engineering students at ��Ͽ� have designed a portable manufacturing cell – a semi-automated assembly machine – to produce wooden toy tractors for area children.

The cross-disciplinary Taft Wooden Toy Assembly System group is made of five mechanical engineering and manufacturing engineering seniors: Owen Coon, of Appleton; Ben Gurka, of Beloit; Kierce Hemauer, of Menomonie; Ryan Kahl, of Menomonie; Aili Klein, of Lakeville, Minnesota; and Dominick Widi, of Stillwater, Minnesota.

Owen Coon, Kierce Hemauer, Ben Gurka, Aili Klein, Ryan Kahl and Dominick Widi

The two-semester-long project concluded their Engineering Technology Capstone 2 course, under the guidance of Assistant Professor Kevin Dietsche. The manufacturing cell is 40 inches wide, 38 inches long and 36 inches tall. Its height makes it accessible to elementary children, as Dietsche plans to transport the machine to area schools to demonstrate the toy manufacturing process. He can also show the cell on campus tours and at industry conferences. The machine is fully enclosed with safety features, allowing Dietsche to pause assembly and talk about the process.

Constructed to be able to fit in the back of Dietsche’s minivan, the two-part portable cell can be easily assembled and disassembled by one person, and its lightweight aluminum extrusion and plexiglass frame meets OSHA’s standards for a two-person lift. It can produce 20 tractors in an hour, including the main body, front and back wheels, and two dowel axles.

On May 1, the group showcased their system to engineering and technology faculty, as well as retired faculty members John Schultz and Professor Emeritus Jerome Johnson and City of Menomonie representative Megan Hines, environmental program coordinator with the Urban Forestry Board.

They presented again on May 4 to faculty, peers, industry partners, family and community members as part of the Senior Design Experience, which blends the university’s polytechnic tenets of applied learning and research, business and industry collaboration, and career-focused experiences.

The wooden toys, ducks and tractors are constructed from ash tree lumber provided by the City of Menomonie’s Urban Forestry Board.

An interactive toy manufacturing experience for kids

Challenges for the Taft Wooden Toy Assembly System group began on day one, as they essentially needed to redesign the previous group’s manufacturing cell from scratch. The previous design had broken and was not usable for testing.

However, this also gave them the opportunity to revamp the design in their own way. Their concept ideas in CAD included updating the sheet metal frame to a stronger aluminum extrusion and plexiglass frame. This was also a durability and safety consideration. The original sheet metal frame had sharp corners and was not as solid – features the group deemed unsafe, since the machine is meant to be accessible to children.

With Dietsche as their project sponsor, the group’s lead capstone instructors were Assistant Professor Nathan Spike and Senior Lecturer Glenn Bushendorf, to whom they presented their initial research and design concept for critique. The group was aided by Instrumentation Coordinator-Instructor Paul Craig and Lecturer Brandon Dick for coding and controls and Lecturer Mike Miller with sensors.

“The build phase brings a spark to see the fully functional machine. Our overall design has changed a lot. It’s two inches bigger and wider than our initial concept. The cell originally had seven doors, but after talking with Paul, we changed it to have one plated door on top. This cut down on the number of safety latches that we needed,” Hemauer said. “The machine also has an emergency stop button, and if the door is opened during production, the machine will stop.”

The wooden tractor components are fed by Dietsche through the top door into 3D-printed gravity-fed chutes. Then, like a mini-Henry Ford assembly line, five actuators – one for the body and one for each wheel – feed the components through the machine.

At first, the group designed the machine to be automated. “But we switched to have the dowels be manually inserted through the wheels, so kids can engage in the making process,” Klein said. “We also included a human-machine interface (HMI) touch screen for kids to give them an industrial feel. The screen shows images to guide kids through the steps of making the tractor.”

It was Hemauer’s idea of a Pez dispenser that evolved into the bolt-action idea of the manual insertion of the dowels, similar to how a ball is launched in a pinball machine. The insertion of the dowels is a press-fit operation, with no glue involved.

In their research, the group found that the pull force of a 6- to 10-year-old child is 22 pounds. They made the pull factor of the wheels 60 pounds for added safety and durability, knowing children would try to remove the wheels. They also imagined children would attempt to sit on and ride the tractor, although it is only 6 inches long and 3 inches high. With extra-strong dowels, made of oak, and chamfered wheels for structural integrity, the tractor can support up to 200 pounds.

A controls box mounted on the front of the machine houses the circuit board. They also added a plaque commemorating the professorship project, as well as ash wood brackets to cover the metal brackets on the exterior casing, giving the machine a warmer appearance.

The group enjoyed the cross-disciplinary project and understands the importance of the experience as they prepare to graduate and enter the workforce. “Working across majors helps you see other people’s point of view and their strengths,” Gurka said. “We’re building communication skills and the confidence to ask each other questions. It’s being able to admit when you don’t know something and being able to fall back on each other for knowledge.”

A collaboration connecting people to people

The project concludes Dietsche’s three-year G.A. Taft Manufacturing Engineering Endowed Professorship, in which various groups of students designed toys with first-graders, created AI rapid prototypes of toys with kindergartners and built a two-wheel toy assembly system to produce a wooden duck, including its body, wings, wheels and dowel axle.

Professor Emeritus Jerome Johnson gives a brief history of the collaboration during the capstone presentation.

The collaboration between the engineering and technology department and the city’s Urban Forestry Board began nearly a decade ago with the support of a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources grant. As the city’s ash trees were dying and trees were being cut down, the grant funded the cutting, acquiring, milling, and kiln-drying of the ash wood. The repurposed wood was then used in student projects, creating benches for the City of Menomonie parks.

The projects were fostered under the guidance of Johnson and Nancy Schofield, a former ��Ͽ� professor and member of the Urban Forestry Board, who has since passed.

“Students wanted to see something that they built be used out in the city. Students became leaders and produced projects I never imagined possible,” said Johnson, who was honored as Citizen of the Year by the Menomonie Urban Forestry Board in 2021.

Professor Kevin Dietsche presents Environmental Program Coordinator Megan Hines with a toy wooden tractor and duck.

Students produced more than 20 city benches from the repurposed ash wood between 2018 and 2021, when Johnson retired and Dietsche stepped in to take his place. “This project has impacted how I teach. It follows a high-impact practices model (HIPS), which reinforces the importance of partnerships and hands-on activities, creating a whole team of student leaders,” Dietsche said.

“This project is something special. We’re able to take something dead and dying and give back to the city, with an end goal of showing kids the engineering process – from mechanical and technical to packaging. The real key is connecting people to people,” he added.

Dietsche plans to continue similar projects with the addition of artificial intelligence and circular design practices in the research and development, as well as construction and repair processes.

Graduates from ��Ͽ�’s mechanical and manufacturing engineering programs reported 99.5% employment rate within six months of graduation and an average starting salary of more than $70,000, according to the latest university First Destination Report.

��Ͽ�’s Robert F. Cervenka School of Engineering is home to five ABET-accredited programs that also include computer and electrical engineering, engineering technology and plastics engineering, as well as a sixth bachelor’s program in packaging. A master’s in manufacturing engineering is available on campus or online.

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��Ͽ� Polytechnic students support Sierra Space’s lunar testing system

Alum works with engineering students to improve lunar dust testing, bolstering NASA’s return to the moon

Ashley, Cadrex, Apogee among companies benefiting from engineering students’ prototypes

Capstone projects demonstrate mechanical, manufacturing know-how, leadership skills

Inspiring Graduate: Thomas Shamla, B.S. Mechanical Engineering

Hired before graduation at Absolut Manufacturing

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��Ͽ� Online engineering, education, management programs ranked among best by U.S. News & World Report

giffeyt — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 14:00:00 +0000

��Ͽ� Online engineering, education, management programs ranked among best by U.S. News & World Reportgiffeyt February 2, 2026

Annual rankings recognize bachelor’s and master’s programs for helping students advance education, career goals

Tom Giffey

Returning to school as an adult student balancing work, family or military responsibilities is a daunting challenge. ��Ͽ�’s Stout Online gives students the flexibility, affordability and support necessary to succeed in the face of this challenge, and in doing so has once again been ranked among the Best Online Programs by U.S. News & World Report.

Stout Online helps working professionals begin or complete their degrees or advance their career goals through more than 30 online bachelor’s and graduate programs, as well as dozens of certificates, certifications, individual courses and development opportunities.

According to the just-released 2026 rankings from U.S. News, Stout Online offers some of the Best Online Programs in the state, region and nation. ��Ͽ� ranked No. 3 among all public universities in Wisconsin and Minnesota for its bachelor’s in management and leadership and its master’s in education and engineering programs. These programs also attained the following rankings:

Best Online Bachelor’s in Business Programs: No. 26 in the Midwest, No. 88 nationwide.
Best Online Master’s in Education Programs: No. 36 in the Midwest, No. 133 nationwide.
Best Online Master’s in Engineering Programs: Top 19 in the Midwest, No. 79 nationwide.

Provost Glendalí Rodríguez

“With more than 1,300 online students, we understand that working professionals are balancing academic pursuits with many other responsibilities,” said Provost Glendalí Rodríguez, vice chancellor of Academic Affairs. “Through flexible online offerings, we work to meet students where they are. Given ��Ͽ�’s polytechnic mission, we facilitate relevant, career-focused education to help working professionals increase their advancement opportunities and skills.”

U.S. News evaluates online programs based on a variety of factors, including student engagement, faculty credentials, and services and technologies. Now in its 14th year, the U.S. News Best Online Programs is designed for individuals looking to complete or further their education. This year’s edition evaluated more than 1,800 online bachelor’s and master’s degree programs using metrics specific to online learning. The rankings include only degree-granting programs offered primarily online by regionally accredited institutions.

Stout Online furthers students’ careers

��Ͽ� faculty are experienced industry experts dedicated to teaching the latest in technology and trends in their fields. Small cohorts build close communities and share a wealth of diverse perspectives to enhance each other’s learning.

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Our online M.S. Manufacturing Engineering program will improve your ability to respond to the needs of modern manufacturing.

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Students in the online M.S. in manufacturing engineering program, part of ��Ͽ�’s Robert F. Cervenka School of Engineering, enhance their professional skills through assignments and projects that apply to real-life industry problems. They build expertise in continuous process improvement, lean manufacturing, project management and manufacturing engineering processes. Students may also choose to earn a Six Sigma Black Belt Certificate to meet the degree’s elective requirements.

M.S. Education

Our M.S. Education program will take your career in education further and enhance your impact on students' lives.

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The online M.S. in education is a 30-credit degree program built around a core of 18 teaching and applied research credits, with a selection of 12 elective credits to meet students’ career interests. While meeting those elective requirements, students may earn one of a number of professional certificates or certifications, including Autism Spectrum Disorder Specialist, Instructional Design, Math Specialist, Reading Specialist or Teaching Adult Learners.

��Ͽ�’s School of Education also offers online master’s programs in school counseling and career and technical education as well as an Ed.D. in career and technical education leadership.

B.S. Management & Leadership

Our B.S. Management & Leadership program is designed to open new doors to advance your career through industry-enhanced classes and real-world experiences.

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��Ͽ�’s online bachelor’s in management and leadership program, offered through the School of Management, has been ranked No. 10 among the best online programs by BestAccreditedColleges.com. It offers eight concentrations to help professionals reach their career goals, including business leadership studies, community-based service management, finance and accounting, human resource management, operations management, project management, quality management, risk control and safety management, and supply chain management.

��Ͽ� graduates are in demand, with 99% employed or pursuing additional degrees within six months of graduation, a figure that rises to 100% among graduates of the three online programs honored by U.S. News. Those who received graduate degrees from ��Ͽ� had an annual starting salary of $74,000. Meanwhile, the average starting salary for recipients of ��Ͽ� undergraduate degrees was $57,000, according to the university’s most recent First Destination Report.

For its dedication to affordability and student outcomes, ��Ͽ� has earned national recognition as one of America’s Best Colleges by Money Magazine for two years in a row.

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‘I am capable of much more than I could ever have imagined.’

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All stacked up: Ashley Furniture-sponsored project results in ‘better product’ developed by engineering seniors

goersab — Mon, 05 Jan 2026 13:50:00 +0000

All stacked up: Ashley Furniture-sponsored project results in ‘better product’ developed by engineering seniorsgoersab January 5, 2026

Student team builds functional nonstandard pallet stacker to be implemented, replicated in company’s facilities

Abbey Goers

A team of engineering students at ��Ͽ� designed an innovative nonstandard pallet stacker for Arcadia-based Ashley Furniture, which plans to quickly implement the machine in its facilities.

Within their Senior Design Experience II capstone course, the team was tasked with building a machine that could lift and hold 6-foot-long, 100-pound pallets off the ground until a stack of 12 was collected. Made of quarter-inch steel, the stacker can support 1,800 pounds, a 125% increase of Ashley’s requested 1,400 maximum stack weight.

Once the stack is complete, the system lowers it to the floor for removal with an electric pallet jack. The stacker – which is 10 feet long, 8 feet wide and 4 feet tall – can be operated by a single person and has a maximum cycle time of 40 seconds.

Erik Kramer, Chase Rodewald, Luke Mertens, Riley Stiehl and Zachary Morgan.

The student team is Luke Mertens, a double major in manufacturing and mechanical engineering from Blue Earth, Minnesota; manufacturing engineering major Zachary Morgan of Eau Claire; and mechanical engineering majors Chase Rodewald of Lake City, Minnesota, and Riley Stiehl of Alma.

During the Manufacturing Engineering & Mechanical Engineering Showcase on Dec. 16, they presented a scaled, controls-focused prototype to ��Ͽ� faculty and supporters, as well as Ashley representatives, including Manufacturing Engineer Erik Kramer, the team’s project manager.

“The ��Ͽ� team built a better system, a better product for us. And with a final product price of about $25,000, their solution offers us a cost reduction of about 60%,” Kramer said. “Now, with the team’s documentation, our automation team can replicate their functional design to build six more stackers for our facilities.”

Riley Stiehl (left) and Chase Rodewald (right) present the Ashley Furniture nonstandard pallet stacker.

The team will submit their accompanying documents and the full-size machine, which includes an emergency stop for user safety, to Ashley for integration into the company’s operations. Final assembly will be completed at Ashley, when safety curtains will be installed around the machine as well.

Reverse-engineering to build a better product

The two-semester-long project began last spring, when the team had a site visit to Ashley to meet with Kramer and other staff. Ashley had purchased a stacker from a third party, but there were aspects of the machine that Kramer and staff didn’t like.

“We needed the Stout team to find a way to reverse-engineer the machine to have it function as we needed it to,” Kramer said.

A digital SolidWorks model of the Ashley Furniture nonstandard pallet stacker.

The team developed schematics in SolidWorks software and a small-scale model, which they presented to Ashley in May. Ashley purchased the materials needed to build the prototype as well as the final product.

“We’re no different than a real engineering team. Everyone is working together, but we each have niche roles based on our strengths,” said Mertens, who led the team’s controls and instrumentation. Morgan was the CNC machinist and completed the documentation and organization of project records. Rodewald and Stiehl managed the manual assembly, machining and welding.

While some of the parts were cut and machined at Ashley, the team also completed the machining and welding of parts in ��Ͽ�’s Fryklund Hall labs.

Chase Rodewald (left) and Riley Stiehl (right) assemble the Ashley Furniture nonstandard pallet stacker prototype.

“There’s a lot to be done, so it’s nice to have multiple people working on it together,” Stiehl said. “We relied on Ashley’s industry equipment and experience. Having them cut and machine parts, rather than going to a third source, was a lot more cost-effective and saved a lot of time. And we could also use our own skills right in the labs on campus.”

Electrical and welding breakthroughs

During the first phase of their project, the team’s biggest challenge was how to meet one of the requirements set by Ashley: using electrical power, rather than pneumatics or hydraulics, to lift the pallets.

“Because most electrical motors are rotational based, it limits your options for linear motion, or the straight-line and up-and-down motion we needed for the pallet stacker,” Rodewald said. “We achieved this through a linear actuator, which is a device that converts a motor’s rotational energy into linear motion.”

Luke Mertens works on the controls for the Ashley Furniture nonstandard pallet stacker prototype.

The electrical power matches Ashley’s capabilities and can be implemented immediately on the shop floor by pulling in power from overhead sources, instead of the company having to install tanks to support a fluid power device.

During the project’s second phase, the team was challenged by how to weld some of the individual pieces before final assembly. The gussets – a three-part support structure, for example – needed to self-align at a 90-degree-angle to make it easier for Rodewald and Stiehl when welding the pieces together.

“We devised a self-aligning slot and tab mechanism, so the parts would basically hold themselves in place,” Stiehl said.

A side-by-side comparison of a digital model and a welded gusset.

“Breakthroughs often come just after the moment you feel you’ve exhausted every option,” Mertens added.

Engineering students use a project management methodology called a “stage gate process,” which includes built-in briefs and reviews at key points in the design and build process. It also allows for feedback from their classmates, professors and project sponsors.

“The process is very helpful because it allows you to review the current aspects of your design, so you never get too far down a rabbit hole,” Mertens said. “The feedback allows for a varying array of perspectives from your rough draft to the final draft of your concept.”

Zachary Morgan (left) and Luke Mertens (right) present a prototype of the Ashley Furniture nonstandard pallet stacker.

This fall semester, the Ashley capstone team was just one of a dozen teams composed of about 50 engineering students working on Capstone I and II projects in Fryklund Hall labs.

Mertens, Morgan, Rodewald and Stiehl earned their degrees and crossed the commencement stage on Dec. 20, among a class of 527 Stout Proud graduates.

According to the university’s most recent First Destination Report, 99% of 2023-24 graduates from the mechanical and manufacturing engineering programs reported they were either employed or continuing their education within six months, with an average starting salary of $72,000.

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Student team builds functional nonstandard pallet stacker to be implemented, replicated in company’s facilities Engineering capstone, Ashley project

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Inspiring Graduate: Luke Mertens, B.S. Manufacturing Engineering, B.S. Mechanical Engineering

goersab — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 16:45:00 +0000

Inspiring Graduate: Luke Mertens, B.S. Manufacturing Engineering, B.S. Mechanical Engineeringgoersab December 23, 2025

Hired before graduation as a controls engineer at SMC Ltd.

Inspiring Graduate: Luke Mertens (’25)

Hometown: Blue Earth, Minnesota
Degree: B.S. Manufacturing Engineering; B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Minor: Advanced Automation & Robotics

Luke Mertens chose ��Ͽ� for its polytechnic education and hands-on learning opportunities that would build his skillset through internships and industry-sponsored projects to make him career-ready before graduation.

Luke Mertens earned his manufacturing and mechanical engineering degrees from ��Ͽ� on Dec. 20, 2025.

Mertens earned a double major in manufacturing engineering and mechanical engineering and crossed the commencement stage on Dec. 20 as one of 527 ��Ͽ� graduates. He was hired before graduation as a controls engineer at SMC Ltd., a medical device contract manufacturer in Somerset.

“My main responsibilities will include designing electrical schematics, wiring control panels, and specifying electrical components for machines that will be built by the in-house automation department,” he said.

“I hope to make an impact in my field by contributing to complex problem solving and challenging what is possible in the world of automation.”

How has ��Ͽ� prepared you to work in your field?

��Ͽ� has helped make me an industry-ready undergraduate by offering hands-on learning and teaching me how to identify, break down and solve problems.

Luke Mertens was hired before graduation as a controls engineer at SMC Ltd.

My favorite lab experiences were my Controls and Robotics labs, where I learned all about industrial automation. My favorite internship was at Midwest Manufacturing in Eau Claire, where I worked as a manufacturing engineer and spent my time programming and troubleshooting automation.

I also completed a two-semester, industry-sponsored capstone project with a team of engineering students to build a pallet-lifting machine for Ashley Furniture. The machine can lift and hold 6-foot-long, 100-pound pallets off the ground until a stack of 12 is collected.

All stacked up: Ashley Furniture-sponsored project results in ‘better product’ developed by engineering seniors

Student team builds functional nonstandard pallet stacker to be implemented, replicated in company’s facilities

What stands out about your ��Ͽ� experience?

What stands out to me about the ��Ͽ� experience is how you are not just a number, but rather a person. I have thoroughly enjoyed many of my professors and the professional relationships I formed with them throughout my collegiate journey.

It was nice to take hands-on classes, where I always had resources available to help tailor my learning to what I needed and answer questions that I had.

The only thing that limits your growth at ��Ͽ� is your own individual willingness to learn. You will have all the resources you need to succeed.

Luke Mertens in the Material Removal Lab in Fryklund Hall.

How did your campus involvement impact your experience?

I was an offensive lineman with Blue Devils football for four years and was a part of football’s FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) group for four years.

In the 2024 season, my fourth year, I was a team captain. I was also named to the second-team All-WIAC, with 11 of my teammates; and the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society, with 15 of my teammates.

I have been a part of Stout’s Society of Manufacturing Engineers student organization.

What challenges did you face in earning your degree and how did you overcome them?

I am proud of my personal growth and my ability to adapt and overcome a variety of challenges, including my biggest: time management. Being as involved as I was in extracurricular activities made me prioritize how I spent my time.

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Inspiring Graduate: Zachary Morgan, B.S. Manufacturing Engineering

goersab — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 16:40:00 +0000

Inspiring Graduate: Zachary Morgan, B.S. Manufacturing Engineeringgoersab December 23, 2025

Joining Andersen Windows & Doors’ Engineering Rotational Program to improve processes and empower people

Inspiring Graduate: Zachary Morgan (’25)

Hometown: Eau Claire
Degree: B.S. Manufacturing Engineering

After several years working in critical care nursing and later in a warehouse at Andersen Windows, Zachary Morgan realized he wanted to be on the side of improving systems, not just adapting to them.

Zachary Morgan earned his manufacturing engineering degree from ��Ͽ� on Dec. 20, 2025.

“��Ͽ�’s strong reputation for applied learning and industry partnerships is what ultimately drew me here to the manufacturing engineering program,” he said. “Years ago, I initially avoided Stout because I was intimidated by the math involved in engineering. I came back to school with a new perspective and a determination to learn.”

For excellence and achievements during his internships, Morgan, of Eau Claire, is a two-time recipient of the university’s Outstanding Cooperative Education and Internship Program Student of the Year Award and the singular 2024 nominee for the National Co-op Student Achievement Award.

“As an engineering intern at Andersen Windows & Doors for three consecutive summers across two different plants, my responsibilities evolved each year as my skills and experience grew. Stout offered the perfect balance of hands-on experience and real-world relevance, and it became the bridge that allowed me to transform my career path,” he said.

Morgan earned his manufacturing engineering degree and crossed the commencement stage on Dec. 20 as one of 527 ��Ͽ� graduates. He is joining Andersen Windows & Doors’ Engineering Rotational Program, which will allow him to continue growing with a company he deeply respects.

Engineering seniors recognized for intern contributions at Andersen Windows, Darley

Morgan, Taylor making continuous improvements to empower employees, build better industries

“The program is designed to expose engineers to multiple facets of the business, from process optimization to product design and operations leadership. I see it as an ideal next step to strengthen my technical and leadership skills while discovering where I can make the greatest impact long-term,” Morgan said.

“I hope my story inspires others, especially those navigating career changes or self-doubt, to take that step forward. Growth happens when we lean into discomfort and keep learning,” he added.

How do you hope to make an impact in your field?

I hope to bring a human-centered perspective to engineering, designing systems that improve safety, reduce waste, and make daily work more manageable for the people who use them.

To me, meaningful engineering goes beyond solving technical problems; it’s about empowering people.

I want to help create workplaces where efficiency and empathy coexist, where improvements benefit both productivity and the wellbeing of employees. Over time, I aim to contribute to a culture of continuous improvement, one that values collaboration, curiosity, and purposeful innovation.

How has ��Ͽ� prepared you for your field?

��Ͽ� has been instrumental in preparing me for my career in manufacturing engineering. The university’s applied learning model allowed me to translate classroom theory into practical experience through labs, simulations and hands-on projects.

Zachary Morgan is joining Andersen Windows & Doors’ Engineering Rotational Program.

Courses in lean manufacturing, capstone and quality engineering closely mirrored the work I did during my internships at Andersen Windows. Professors encourage not just technical mastery, but also communication, teamwork and leadership, skills that are critical in real industrial environments.

Stout taught me how to think critically, approach challenges methodically, and lead with both data and empathy.

What was your internship experience like at Andersen Windows & Doors?

As an engineering intern at Andersen Windows & Doors, I began by conducting time studies and waste assessments, which gave me a strong foundation in process analysis and data-driven improvement. In my following internship, I focused on enhancing efficiency within the Value-Added Services (VAS) mulling area, a crucial part of the company’s customization process. This included developing a new rack system, redesigning the layout, and implementing 5S standards to improve organization and workflow.

Most recently, I designed and built a Statistical Process Control (SPC) dashboard that presented real-time quality data in a clear, intuitive way, empowering operators to make faster, more informed decisions and improving overall plant quality.

Through these projects, I learned that small, thoughtful changes can produce meaningful, measurable results. Most importantly, the experience taught me that lasting improvement comes from observation, collaboration, and the courage to question and refine existing processes.

What stands out about your ��Ͽ� experience?

What stands out most about my experience at ��Ͽ� is the incredible culture of support and mentorship. Professors here don’t just teach; they genuinely invest in their students’ growth and take time to connect classroom lessons to real-world applications.

A perfect example of that is when Dr. Slupe spent an hour and a half out of his busy workday helping me to troubleshoot CNC programming for a capstone project. It wasn’t during office hours, and I wasn’t even in one of his classes at the time; he simply wanted to help me learn. That kind of dedication exemplifies what makes Stout special.

The combination of strong academics, approachable faculty, and opportunities like internships, capstone projects and industry collaborations truly sets this university apart.

I’ve found tremendous value in team-based projects that mirror professional settings; those experiences taught me as much about leadership, communication, and adaptability as they did about technical problem-solving and design.

All stacked up: Ashley Furniture-sponsored project results in ‘better product’ developed by engineering seniors

Student team builds functional nonstandard pallet stacker to be implemented, replicated in company’s facilities

I completed a two-semester, industry-sponsored capstone project with a team of engineering students to build a pallet-lifting machine for Ashley Furniture. The machine can lift and hold 6-foot-long, 100-pound pallets off the ground until a stack of 12 is collected.

How did your involvement on and off campus impact your experience?

I was honored to be selected as one of ��Ͽ�’s 2023 and 2024 Outstanding Cooperative Education and Internship Program Student of the Year Award recipients, and later as the university’s nominee for the National Cooperative Education Student Achievement Award. These recognitions mean a great deal to me because they reflect not only personal growth but also the value of Stout’s hands-on, applied learning approach.

Beyond academics, I’ve been actively involved in Celebrate Recovery, where I help facilitate group sessions that support individuals in their personal healing and growth journeys. I also volunteer with Fierce Freedom, a nonprofit organization that raises awareness about human trafficking and advocates for victims. They recently launched a new resource called Intersections, which provides powerful educational tools and community connections to combat human exploitation. It’s an extremely impactful platform that I highly recommend exploring.

These experiences outside the classroom have helped me grow as a leader and advocate, strengthening my empathy and sense of purpose. They’ve reminded me that meaningful impact often begins not with large gestures, but with service, compassion and a commitment to helping others.

What challenges did you face in earning your degree and how did you overcome them?

Zachary Morgan, Co-op award winner.

Returning to school for a second degree while balancing work and life responsibilities was not easy. There were times when the coursework felt overwhelming, especially as I re-engaged with subjects like advanced math and physics after being away from academia for years.

What helped me push through was perseverance, mentorship and a mindset shift. I stopped striving for perfection and started focusing on progress. Support from professors, peers, and my family kept me grounded and motivated through every challenge.

What are you most proud of as you finish your degree?

I’m most proud of how far I’ve come in redefining my career and myself. I started this journey unsure if I could succeed in a demanding engineering program, and now I’m stepping into a profession that excites and challenges me daily. I’m proud not just of the technical skills I’ve gained, but of the resilience and confidence I’ve developed along the way.

I’m deeply grateful for ��Ͽ�, for Andersen Windows and for every mentor, professor and peer who encouraged me along the way. My journey has shown me that it’s never too late to start over or to pursue something that feels out of reach.

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Joining Andersen Windows & Doors’ Engineering Rotational Program to improve processes and empower people Zachary Morgan, Fall Commencement 2025

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Cirrus Aircraft, Ashley Furniture benefit from ��Ͽ� seniors’ engineering solutions

giffeyt — Wed, 18 Jun 2025 13:00:00 +0000

Cirrus Aircraft, Ashley Furniture benefit from ��Ͽ� seniors’ engineering solutionsgiffeyt June 18, 2025

Capstone projects tackle mechanical, manufacturing challenges

Tom Giffey

After collectively putting thousands of hours into their capstone projects, the moment of truth arrived in May for seniors in University of Wisconsin-Stout’s manufacturing engineering and mechanical engineering programs when they presented their projects to industry leaders, faculty and their peers.

The projects weren’t merely classroom exercises: For seniors in these undergraduate majors, the capstone projects involved creating working prototypes that addressed real-world challenges posed by corporate sponsors that included Cirrus Aircraft, 3M, Ashley Furniture, Nordson EDI, Realityworks, Industrial Heat Transfer and others.

These firms partner with students in ��Ͽ�’s Robert F. Cervenka School of Engineering to address challenges as diverse as creating a system to pressure test heat exchangers to dispensing liquid silicon rubber into manufacturing equipment, and from safely stacking factory pallets to creating an automated system to chemically coat aluminum aircraft parts.

��Ͽ� seniors discuss their capstone project on behalf of Cirrus Aircraft. The automated system behind them was designed to chemically coat machined aircraft parts.

Project called a ‘win-win’

That latter challenge, proposed by Duluth, Minnesota-based Cirrus Aircraft, was in the hard-working hands of a six-member team led in the spring semester by Gabrielle Winstead, a mechanical engineering major from Kennewick, Washington. The goal of the project was to create an automated system to chemically coat machined aircraft parts, which need to be dipped into – and removed from – nine successive tanks.

“It is super gratifying to know that what we worked on all year not only produced a successful working system but will possibly be implemented into a real company,” Winstead said.

Last fall, the student team visited the Cirrus facility to learn about the current manufacturing process, which involved an employee manually dipping the aircraft parts, a repetitive and time-consuming job.

Using the technical and communication skills they’ve gained throughout their ��Ͽ� careers, the capstone students got to work on a project that combined all three of the university’s polytechnic tenets – applied learning and research, business and industry collaboration, and career-focused experiences. The team faced numerous challenges, from creating a machine that could properly move the parts up and down to procuring the right motors.

“We overcame the design challenges and procurement through a lot of brainstorming and prototyping,” said Winstead, who before graduation accepted a position as a field service engineer with Applied Materials in Boise, Idaho. “Additionally, seeking feedback from professors and other knowledgeable individuals was instrumental in refining our approach.”

In addition, size became an issue: There simply wasn’t enough space in the Manufacturing, Material Removal & Metal Forming Lab in Fryklund Hall to build an apparatus with nine full-sized tanks. Instead, the team created a prototype with just two tanks that demonstrated the process using automated, mechanical and pneumatic systems.

Metal parts are lifted from a tub of liquid in a demonstration of a machine developed by ��Ͽ� students in their engineering capstone course.

Antonio Meyer, a mechanical engineering major from Elk Mound who was team lead during the first semester, said consistent communication, real-time problem solving and adaptability were key to overcoming the problems the team encountered.

“I learned that strong teamwork relies on trust, clear communication and flexibility,” Meyer said. “Everyone has different working styles and strengths, and it’s important to recognize and leverage those. I also learned the value of stepping up when the team needs direction but also stepping back and letting others take ownership of their parts.”

The students worked with Cirrus Manufacturing Engineering Manager Marc Wollak to provide project updates, ask questions and receive guidance.

Cirrus chose this engineering challenge because the current manual process required a technician’s undivided attention, Wollak said. Automating the process would save a large amount of time for the operator.

“The final product was well done and provided a solid solution to our problem,” Wollak said. “There will always be modifications through continuous improvements, but the Cirrus team was very excited about the solution provided and the amount of detail that was captured for the process.”

Wollak added that working with ��Ͽ� was a valuable experience for both the students and Cirrus Aircraft. “Stout provides some amazing and talented students thorough their program and its win-win for both sides,” he said.

“The feedback from Cirrus was incredibly valuable,” agreed Meyer who is now a design engineer at Cretex Medical in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. “They helped us stay grounded in real-world applications, offered insights we wouldn't have considered on our own, and kept our design aligned with their operational needs. It elevated the project from a student prototype to something with industrial relevance.”

The Cirrus capstone team also included mechanical engineering majors Tyler Geisenhoff of Chisago City, Minnesota; Nick Roller, of Antigo; and Carter Zaspel, of Gordon; and manufacturing engineering major Prena Rai of Nepal.

��Ͽ� engineering students Luke Mertens, right, and Zachary Morgan demonstrate a wooden model of a machine they engineered for Ashley Furniture as part of their capstone course.

Students face a real-life heavy lift

During the spring semester, the Cirrus capstone group was just one of 14 teams composed of 80 students working on projects in various stages of developing in Fryklund Hall labs.

Among the first-semester capstone teams was one tackling a project on behalf of Arcadia-based Ashley Furniture. That team was tasked with designing a device that could lift and hold 6-foot-long, 100-pound pallets off the ground until a stack of 12 was collected. The biggest challenge was the requirement that they use electrical power, rather than pneumatics or hydraulics, to lift a heavy stack of pallets in one of the company’s warehouses.

Luke Mertens, a double major in manufacturing and mechanical engineering from Easton, Minnesota, said his team overcame these challenges one at a time. “It all comes down to identifying what a functional need is of your design and then brainstorming potential design concepts that can satisfy that need,” he said. “This is a never-ending cycle. It is an unrelenting pursuit of solutions that are justifiable. A lot of it is mindset related. As a team, you must continuously tell yourselves there is a way to solve a given problem within the constraints you are operating in. Breakthroughs often come just after the moment you feel you’ve exhausted every option.”

The Ashley team also includes manufacturing engineering major Zachary Morgan of Eau Claire and mechanical engineering majors Chase Rodewald of Lake City, Minnesota, and Riley Stiehl of Alma.

The challenges that are inherent in the capstone process provided students with opportunities to learn, grow and adapt, Mertens explained. Along the way, he said, the team has been aided by input from representatives from Ashley as well as others who attended an end-of-semester presentation, which featured computer schematics and a small-scale model of what they will build in the fall semester.

“This feedback will be used to diagnose aspects of our design we need to further investigate, improve and validate,” Mertens said, adding he looks forward to presenting Ashley with a functional solution by the end of the year.

��Ͽ� senior Gabrielle Winstead presents her team's capstone project.

Ready to step into industrial roles

The engineering capstone classes are led by Assistant Professor Dan Bee; Assistant Professor Nathan Spike, B.S. mechanical engineering program director; Senior Lecturer Glenn Bushendorf; Lecturer Anwr Al-Baghdadi; and Instrumentation Coordinator-Instructor Paul Craig, B.S. and M.S. manufacturing program director.

Bee said the faculty view themselves as facilitators in an open-ended process where the seniors must undertake their own research and develop their own solutions.

“We’re trying to give a real experience in a safe environment and help them be ready to step into a role like that in industry,” Bee said.

Students use a project management methodology called a “stage gate process,” which includes built-in reviews at key points. Students prepare a report at the end of the first semester, which is updated during the second semester. At that time the sponsor – typically an outside business – purchases the materials the team needs to build its prototype. After their final presentations, students submit what they’ve built and the accompanying documents to the companies for potential integration into manufacturing operations or continued development.

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Hired before graduation at Absolut Manufacturing

��Ͽ� seniors discuss their capstone project on behalf of Cirrus Aircraft. ��Ͽ� seniors discuss their capstone project on behalf of Cirrus Aircraft.

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Search Keywords: Cirrus AircraftAshley Furnituremanufacturing engineeringapplied engineering

Hero Caption: Luke Mertens, a double major in manufacturing and mechanical engineering, presents his capstone team's plans for a device to lift pallets for Ashley Furniture.

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Engineering seniors recognized for intern contributions at Andersen Windows, Darley

goersab — Mon, 02 Jun 2025 14:27:16 +0000

Engineering seniors recognized for intern contributions at Andersen Windows, Darleygoersab June 2, 2025

Morgan, Taylor making continuous improvements to empower employees, build better industries

Abbey Goers

Twenty ��Ͽ� students received the university’s Outstanding Cooperative Education and Internship Program Student of the Year Award for excellence and achievements in their positions, contributions to their employers and academic achievement.

Among them were manufacturing engineering seniors Zachary Morgan and Taylor Thompson, both from Eau Claire. Thompson was hired full-time before graduating in May as a manufacturing engineer at Darley, where she completed her internship. Darley provides the highest quality technology and equipment solutions to the nation’s military and first responders.

Morgan is starting his third summer as an engineering intern with Andersen Windows & Doors. He is now a two-time CEIP Student of the Year award winner and was Career Services’ singular 2024 National Nominee for the National Co-op Student Award. Morgan will graduate this December and anticipates joining Andersen Windows and Doors’ engineering rotational program.

“This would allow me to continue growing with a company I deeply respect. The rotational program is an ideal next step. It will give me exposure to different areas of the business, strengthen my technical and leadership skills, and help me discover where I can make the most impact long term,” he said.

Taylor Thompson and Zachary Morgan were awarded for excellence in their Darley and Andersen Windows internships

Career success is a hallmark of an education at Wisconsin’s Polytechnic University, along with applied learning and industry collaboration. This past year, Career Services reported that 990 students participated in the Cooperative Education and Internship Program at more than 600 employers in 30 states and five countries. Graduates were employed at a near historic high of 99% soon after receiving their degree. Those who received graduate degrees had an annual starting salary of $74,000. The average starting salary for recipients of undergraduate degrees was $57,000.

The CEIP program received the 2024 Excellence & Innovation Stewards of Place award from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities “for its outstanding results and potential to influence and serve as a model for other institutions.”

‘Engineering that empowers people’

Before attending ��Ͽ�, Morgan was burned out from a previous career in critical care nursing and was working in a warehouse at Andersen Windows & Doors. He saw opportunities for improvement on the floor and wanted to be in a position to help make those changes, he said.

“Returning to school for a second degree was not an easy decision, but it’s been one of the most rewarding choices I’ve ever made. The support from my professors, mentors, and peers has been invaluable, and I’ve grown not just as an engineer, but as a leader and problem-solver,” Morgan said. “I hope my journey encourages others, especially those making a career change or overcoming self-doubt, to pursue their goals with courage and persistence.”

As an engineering intern at Andersen Windows’ Menomonie Consolidation Center, Morgan focuses on improving the efficiency of the Value-Added Services mulling area, an essential part of the company’s customization process. He leads efforts in time studies, waste assessment, and layout redesign, including developing a new rack system and implementing 5S standards.

“This experience deepened my understanding of how small, thoughtful changes can create a measurable impact,” he said. “I gained confidence in using Lean tools to drive real improvements and saw how engineering can directly support both people and performance. Most importantly, I learned that lasting change starts with observation, communication and a willingness to challenge the status quo.”

Zachary Morgan, center, programs a robotic arm in ��Ͽ�'s Robotics and Automation Lab

Morgan hopes to bring lasting change to the manufacturing engineering field by designing processes that are efficient and human-centered, and by building solutions that improve safety and reduce waste.

“I believe beneficial engineering doesn’t just solve problems; it empowers people,” he said. “Long-term, I want to contribute to a culture of continuous improvement, where innovation is practical, data-driven and grounded in collaboration. Whether it’s through optimizing layouts, improving ergonomics, or leading cross-functional projects, I aim to be a voice that connects technical solutions with real-world impact. In doing so, I hope to inspire others entering the field to see manufacturing not just as systems and machines, but as an opportunity to serve people and build better industries.”

Morgan thinks that ��Ͽ� has played a crucial role in preparing him for his field. Years ago, he initially shied away from ��Ͽ� and engineering, afraid of the math involved. But life showed him there are things scarier than equations, and he returned with a renewed mindset.

“My time at ��Ͽ� didn’t just prepare me academically; it taught me how to think critically, lead with resilience, and solve complex problems in real industrial environments,” he said. “If you’re curious, hardworking, and want to make a difference, Stout is a place to start.”

Morgan’s courses in Lean manufacturing, process improvement and systems design directly aligned with his internships at Andersen Windows. And the university’s emphasis on communication, teamwork and continuous improvement are skills that he thinks are just as vital as technical knowledge.

“Engaging with Stout’s outstanding professors and hands-on learning environment proved transformative. The applied learning approach, combined with industry-relevant projects and labs, helped bridge the gap between theory and real-world application,” he added.

“What motivates me most is seeing real, measurable impact, knowing that something I’ve designed makes someone’s job easier, safer or more efficient. I’m driven by challenges, but also by the people behind the processes. Manufacturing engineering allows me to combine hands-on problem-solving with purpose, and that’s what keeps me going.”

Benefiting employees through continuous improvements

During her internship with Darley, Thompson became a confident problem-solver. She played a key role in improving the company’s assembly process and supported major projects, from designing machinery to coordinating contractors.

Thompson’s internship roles included writing detailed work instructions on how to assemble different configurations of water pumps, devising process improvements for areas of the shop and developing ways to ship gears safely for heat treating to prevent damage during shipping. She also helped the manufacturing team in automating the test room.

As a full-time manufacturing engineer, she will continue to improve and standardize processes for staff on the shop floor and within her department.

“The thing I am most looking forward to in my career at Darley is to continue the projects I have been working on, learning different processes, and making improvements to benefit the workers and the company,” Thompson said. “I’m very blessed to be chosen as a cooperative internship student of the year. I’m very excited to officially be an engineer and take on larger projects in my field.”

2025 CEIP Student of the Year award recipients

Additional CEIP Student of the Year winners, their majors, hometowns and employers are:

Elaina Blazei, real estate property management, St. Paul, Premier Housing Management
Addison Braun, applied mathematics and computer science, Rochester, Minnesota, Mayo Clinic
Kal Breeden, environmental science, Lakeville, Minnesota, Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks
Ben Gau, environmental science, Champlin, Minnesota, Rainbow Treecare
Meir Hetletvedt, construction management, Minneapolis, Kraus Anderson
Connor Jensen, business administration, supply chain management, Plainview, Minnesota, Walmart
Anna Karrow, psychology, St. Paul, Wisconsin State Public Defender
Madelyn King, hotel, restaurant and tourism management, real estate property management, Brownsville, Whistling Straits
Madalyn Klaja, packaging, Hudson, Nestle Health Science
Braden Lefeber, mechanical engineering, Kaukauna, Realityworks
Faith Leisgang, hotel, restaurant and tourism management, Black River Falls, The Iron Horse Hotel
Meghana Maske, M.S. food science and technology, Maharashtra, India, Bunge
Antonio Meyer, mechanical engineering, Elk Mound, Midwest Manufacturing
Austin Moua, business administration, La Crosse, Pest Badger
Gavin Soukkaserm, animation and digital media, Sun Prairie, Universal Phoenix Group
Samuel Tornow, construction management, Eau Claire, Tesla
Maya Van Hemert, manufacturing engineering, mechanical engineering, Waterford, General Motors
Jazmine Williams, arts administration and entrepreneurship, Roscoe, Illinois, Discovery Center Museum

Students were recognized at the annual Leadership Awards ceremony sponsored by the Involvement Center, Stout Student Association and Career Services. The ceremony also recognized 16 seniors who received the Samuel E. Wood Medallion, the university’s highest nonacademic honor, for their outstanding leadership in student involvement at ��Ͽ�.

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Top 50 ranking on ‘Best Value Public Universities’ list adds to ��Ͽ� Polytechnic accolades

University ranked at the top based on high median earnings, graduation rates, affordable tuition

Co-op Q&A: Noah Klenner, Nicolet Plastics and Harley-Davidson

‘My internships built on the strong foundation Stout has given me by showing me how concepts are used in actual production environments.’

Co-op Q&A: Ayush Patel, SMK Global, New Jersey

‘This experience confirmed that I want to build my career in food safety and quality assurance.’

Morgan, Taylor making continuous improvements to empower employees, build better industries Zachary Morgan, manufacturing engineering

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B.S. Manufacturing Engineering

Our B.S. Manufacturing Engineering program trains you in engineering design, robotics, artificial intelligence, automation systems, and industrial management.

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Hero Caption: Zachary Morgan is a two-time Outstanding Cooperative Education and Internship Program Student of the Year Award recipient

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Ashley sponsors toolless bed connections engineering project

goersab — Tue, 27 May 2025 13:25:00 +0000

Ashley sponsors toolless bed connections engineering projectgoersab May 27, 2025

Product Development students build prototypes, propose solutions for global company

Abbey Goers

Students in a New Product Development course at ��Ͽ� recently completed a 3 1/2 week project developing toolless bed connections for Ashley Furniture Industries, LLC (Ashley), a global leader in furniture manufacturing.

The project kicked off on April 15, when Ashley Research and Development (R&D) team members presented the project virtually to the 18 students in Assistant Professor Kevin Dietsche’s class.

Over the next few weeks, the students worked in eight cross-disciplinary groups to research market trends, ideate preliminary designs, test materials and build professional prototypes. They received mentorship along the way from Ashley product designers.

The class then traveled to Ashley in Arcadia on May 6, for a tour of the facility and to present their prototypes to the R&D team.

��Ͽ� engineering students outside of Ashley's Automation and Robotics Lab

“This was an incredible experience – one that stood out for its real-world relevance and industry collaboration,” mechanical engineering major Alex Springer said. “Working directly with professionals from Ashley – one of the biggest companies in the furniture industry – gave us insight into the complete product development cycle, from initial design through manufacturing and packaging to mechanical and interior design to align functional and aesthetic goals.”

Ashley Furniture Industries is the world's largest furniture manufacturer with more than 35,000 employees worldwide, providing product to 20,000 storefronts in 155 countries, and operating over 1,100 Ashley retail stores in 70 countries.

Dietsche was awarded a sponsorship by Ashley to fund the project.

Preliminary research and feedback

Ultimately, each group wanted to create a unique product that was budget-friendly, sturdy and easy to assemble right out of the box – a main goal of the toolless bed connection concept.

Luke Janssen, Sam Petkovsek, Professor Kevin Dietsche, Alex Springer and Jered Clark in the Woods Lab

They began by conducting market research to view current Ashley products and prices, as well as those of competitors and DIY models online. They factored in pricing of materials, such as medium density fiberboard (MDF) and particleboard, to save on costs, looked at estimated labor, manufacturing, storage, shipping and more compared to selling cost.

Several groups conducted surveys to find where consumers prefer to buy their furniture, how much they are willing to spend on a bed frame and how much time they expect to spend on assembly.

When looking at styles of joinery in woodworking, groups based their initial digital designs on mortise and tenon joinery with locking pins, castle joints and Japanese wedge joints.

Some groups simulated tests on the strength of MDF board and particleboard, testing different thicknesses for weight allowances. Other groups “over-built” their designs according to the FEA – finite element analysis – factor of safety, to measure how well a design could withstand a load.

Alex Springer and Sam Petkovsek measure and cut bed posts in the Woods Lab

One group – Springer and fellow mechanical engineering major Jered Clark, and packaging majors Luke Janssen and Sam Petkovsek – drafted a Computer Numerical Control, or CNC, model for automated machining of sideboards, slots, pins and legs, based on mortise and tenon joinery. They estimated a run time of 12 minutes to complete a bedframe.

Another group – mechanical engineering major Owen Coon and engineering technology major Kadence Tinsley – designed 3D-printed interlocking brackets using SolidWorks software. They also wrote an AI prompt to generate images of bed frames for college-age consumers. They estimated their design would have a 50% profit margin.

Technology education major Annika Schlueter and engineering technology major Hunter Ouimette built a scaled model of an interlocking Japanese wood joint bedframe using CNC for manufacturing the larger parts because it is more efficient and cost-effective. They also implemented two different types of locks – a wedge and a 3D-printed ring – for different aesthetic looks.

Ashley product designers Angel Kraemer, Caleb Toft and Anna Lindner, all ��Ͽ� industrial and product design alums, provided feedback, including encouraging the groups to think about usability and flexibility for multiple looks depending on a consumer’s individual style.

Sam Petkovsek and Luke Janssen cut bed slats in the Woods Lab

They asked the groups to understand the materials used and how different environments can impact MDF board versus particleboard, such as temperature and climate tolerance, as well as to consider how the different materials, such as MDF versus wood, handle tooling and manufacturing. A joint design in one material may be more difficult to produce in another.

Designing under a deadline

Dietsche uses the Design Build Process – a model for teaching projects with quick turnaround times. “When you give students such a fast deadline for large-scale projects, when you cram them with ideas, it forces creativity. There’s this crash and burn and rebuild mentality. They’ll make mistakes and learn to quickly find solutions. It can be stressful, but it builds grit.”

Schlueter thinks one of the biggest benefits of this teaching/learning approach is the need to be creative and take advantage of the time given, with only four to five class periods to research, test, fully develop a model and be ready to present. “No team’s design has stayed the exact same since we started the toolless bed connection project. Things go wrong, and things go right, and we had to develop accordingly,” she said.

Jered Clark printed models of 3D printed fasteners

Springer, Petkovsek, Janssen and Clark’s group had to pivot away from their original design of mortise and tenon joinery when Ashley’s designers recommended that they use fasteners to secure the frame to the legs instead of wood joints. This tested the group’s adaptability, Springer said.

“Ashley sent us some ideas for fasteners, and they served as a model for ours. After researching, we bought one model of metal fasteners and designed two custom models of fasteners – a slot and lock; and a hook and clamp,” added Clark, who printed the group’s models on his 3D printer at home.

The group designed multiple iterations of their fasteners. The first prototype failed to hold securely under tension. The second performed better but still slipped under stress. “Our final design addressed those weaknesses, significantly improving grip and structural stability. I think if we were able to continue the project, we would look into stronger plastics and possibly metal to enhance the durability of our clips,” Springer said.

Jered Clark, Alex Springer and Sam Petkovsek test their 3D-printed fasteners

In the Jarvis Hall Technology Wing Woods Lab, the group built and tested a full-scale queen-sized prototype using MDF and chipboard for the frame and 4X4s for the posts. Working with MDF introduced material-specific hurdles, such as expansion and contraction, which affected their product’s fit tolerances.

They also developed a corrugated branded packaging solution using ��Ͽ�’s Packaging Lab in the Applied Arts Building and designed an assembly booklet for customers. “It was an all-around lightbulb moment to see the mechanical engineering and packaging phases of our project come together,” Springer said.

Making an impact on manufacturing

Dietsche and the Product Development class traveled together by bus to Ashley on May 6. They were given a tour of the facilities, including a visit to the Advanced Technology Maker Center, the Automation and Robotics Laboratory, and the design and R&D departments.

��Ͽ� engineering students tour Ashley's facilities and labs in Arcadia

The eight groups then gave PowerPoint presentations of their designs and discussed their physical prototypes with the R&D team.

Springer, Petkovsek, Janssen and Clark are proud of their final outcome. Along with their functional full-size bed frame, they also delivered a professional mini model to showcase during their presentation.

“Given the timeline and complexity, we’re delighted with what we accomplished. We were excited to get feedback on our project, especially the positive feedback from Ashley,” said Springer, noting that presenting to Ashley was a highlight of the semester.

“The project was an opportunity to make connections with different majors in the class, advance our CNC and manufacturing process skills and professionalism, and have fun while doing something that could be very impactful for a large company,” Schlueter added.

Kadence Tinsley and Owen Coon present their toolless bed connections

��Ͽ�’s engineering and technology department offers six undergraduate degrees, including computer and electrical engineering, manufacturing engineering, mechanical engineering, plastics engineering, engineering technology and packaging, as well as four minors and a master’s in manufacturing engineering.

Technology education is offered through the School of Education, which is home to nine undergraduate degrees, five graduate degrees, certificates, certifications and online professional development courses.

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Product Development students build prototypes, propose solutions for global company Ashley, ETECH toolless bed connection project

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Robert F. Cervenka School of Engineering

The Robert F. Cervenka School of Engineering focuses on enhancing the learning experience for students in ��Ͽ� Polytechnic's engineering programs.

Hero Caption: Hunter Ouimette and Annika Schlueter present their toolless bed connection prototype to Ashley's R&D team members

Kevin Dietsche

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Preliminary research and feedback

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Robert F. Cervenka School of Engineering

��Ͽ� Polytechnic students support Sierra Space’s lunar testing system

��Ͽ� Online engineering, education, management programs ranked among best by U.S. News & World Report

Cirrus Aircraft, Ashley Furniture benefit from ��Ͽ� seniors’ engineering solutions