Month: June 2018

I am in Germany with Auburn University as a faculty member in an engineering study abroad program. There are 26 students from several departments within the College of Engineering and they range from rising sophomores to rising seniors.  I, Dr. Valenzuela and Dr. Carpenter came midway through the program to replace faculty who had been here for 3 weeks.  The program is project based so every group of 4-6 students have been assigned an engineering project to work on with a company in or near Schweinfurt.  I am mentoring two teams.  The first team is paired with a company that builds automobile parts. The team’s project is to take apart several actuators, identify the parts, and create a method for the company to query the parts in order to build an actuator according to a customer’s specifications.  They have chosen to build a relational access database to store the parts, specifications and the relationships among the parts of the actuator.  The second team is paired with a company that builds shock absorbers.  They are trying to decide whether to pursue a new air damping technology or stay with the standard product they have been building for years.  These students are building a decision making tool based on attributes of the two different technologies.

Each team uses a six sigma tool called DMAIC–design, measure, analyze, improve, control–to manage their projects.  After each phase is complete, they create a slide about the phase, write a narrative about the phase and make a  presentation to the entire student group, program faculty, program administrators, and company representatives.  The final incorporates all phases into a single presentation.

It is a pleasure to work with these engineering students.  They are all bright and hard working.  Some are very good problem solvers and are eager to try and learn new things; some are unsure of themselves and don’t seem to know how to go about solving a problem; and some simply do what their team mates tell them to do.  Each team has its own personality as do each of the students.  I’m really enjoying the role of a mentoring faculty member in a study abroad program

Arrived safely in Schweinfurt on Monday after a long day.

After the long flight and walk to the train station, navigating the train station was not as easy as I had hoped.  First I didn’t know if Schweinfurt was local or long distance from Frankfurt (it is long distance) and when I was at the red (long distance) kiosk there were 4 stations with Schweinfurt in their names.  So, I found the person-operated ticket counter and quickly had my ticket to Schweinfurt Hbv with a train change at Wurtzburg Hbv (a high speed train).  Leaving from the Frankfort train station the scenery looked much like the United States.  Mixed pine and hardwood forest, fences with wooden fence posts, and birds on wires.  Buildings on the outskirts of Frankfurt are modern–mostly glass and steel–with German names I’ve never heard.  We crossed a metal bridge over a small waterway with lots of graffiti on the way to the Frankfurt Main train station.

Rolling through the countryside, Germany looked more like the countryside in France.  Different colored manicured small fields just outside of small villages with a big-steepled church in each one.

The train from Frankfurt arrived in Wurzburg late enough that the train to Schweinfurt was pulling away as I arrived.  A helpful fellow traveler told me the next train to Schweinfurt was on track 10 (I was on 4) and was leaving in 8 minutes.  I made it even with my 3 heavy bags and lots of stairs, including stairs to the second level of the train.  Note to self:  limit yourself to one bag and a backpack if you might be riding a train.

LuAnn and Dr. Valenzuela picked me up at the train and dropped me at my room with a promise to meet me for dinner.  After unpacking, taking a much needed shower and a short nap, I met them at their hotel; we discussed the program a bit and headed for downtown Schweinfurt and dinner.  We sat upstairs on a terrace and had a great meal of good German food and good German beer.  It was a late night but much fun.