Published Sunday, October 05, 2008
Education Notes
Robert Daniel Miller of Newnan was accepted to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University at Daytona Beach, Fla.
Miller, a 2008 graduate of Newnan's The Heritage School, is pursuing a degree in aviation business administration. He is the son of Daniel and Michelle Miller.
Caroline Young, a college sophomore from Newnan who recently transferred from Stetson University to Flagler College, was named the 2008 Flagler College women's cross country team captain.
Much like the "Chariots of Fire" movie scene filmed on the beach at St. Andrews, Scotland, the Flagler girls train in-part on the scenic beaches of St. Augustine, Fla.
Young is a 2007 graduate of Newnan High School. Her parents are John and Leslie Young of Newnan.
She is the granddaughter of Martha Latimer Young, a 1940 Newnan High graduate.
Taylor Kee of Newnan is getting a head start on his first year of college.
Kee, a high school senior, earned three hours of university credit over the summer by participating in Harding University's Honors Symposium, a challenging two-week academic program that reflects the learning method made popular by ancient Greek scholars.
Professors participate from disciplines such as communication, history, music, political science and Bible & religion. Topics of discussion have included the Dark Ages, the U.S. Constitution and stem cell research.
Students also engage in community service projects, enjoy recreational activities, and invariably for lasting friendships with other junior scholars. Three hours of transferable university credit are awarded to all who successfully complete the symposium, the content of which is designed to appeal to students of both the humanities and the sciences.
Admission to the symposium is treated on an individual basis, with special consideration given to grade point average, a score from any nationally standardized test (ACT, SAT, PSAT, PACT, etc.), and a reference letter.
Dan Toborowski of Newnan, a student at Valparaiso University majoring in mechanical engineering, has supported a project that will help people around the world who are blind or visually-impaired be able to read the Bible.
Over the past year, he worked with a team from Valparaiso's College of Engineering and volunteers at a local Lutheran church to redesign and build a Braille printing press.
Toborowski did much of the design of the improved machine and contributed greatly to manufacturing the press now in operation.
The new press recently went into operation at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Valparaiso, Ind., said Dr. Scott Duncan, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering who began working on the project last fall.
Twenty members of the church have been making Braille bibles for the past five years as volunteers with Lutheran Braille Workers, Inc., a national organization founded in 1943 to meet the spiritual needs of people with visual impairments. More than 7,000 volunteers print Braille bibles with presses located at more than 200 churches throughout the country, but the press design is more than half a century old and many presses are nearing the end of their operational lives.
"We were asked for help redesigning the press to make it safer as well as easier for some of the older volunteers to use," Dr. Duncan said. "This was a good opportunity for the College of Engineering to use its expertise in a project that would make a significant impact on the lives of many people."
Their efforts have resulted in a new press that has better safety guarding, an emergency stop and on-off switch and can be produced at a lower cost, Dr. Duncan said. The team also designed a work surface that allows volunteers to slide page templates from the outlet to the inlet of the machine, making it easier for volunteers who had trouble lifting the template while printing pages.
The College of Engineering's Department of Mechanical Engineering provided funding for the redesign and manufacture of the machine.
