PCEC News
Cast in Steel 2023: A Collaborative project between engineering students and anthropology faculty at GVSU
April 17, 2023
Jarrett Folkert, David Pevic, Rock Phelps, Eric Spindler, and Nathan Vugteveen, engineering students at Grand Valley State University, will be heading to Cleveland, Ohio on Monday, April 24, 2023, to participate in the “Cast in Steel” competition hosted by the Steel Founders’ Society of America (SFSA). SFSA created the Cast in Steel competition to encourage students to learn about making steel products, using the casting process, and applying the latest technology available.
The Cast in Steel 2023 competition challenges university students to use modern casting tools to creatively design and produce a functioning version of an African Spear Point. During the competition, each teams’ spear will be put through a series of tests. The students’ final competition submission must include the creation of an African spear point, a project video, and a technical report documenting the design and manufacturing process. The students’ technical report requires the historical background of the African Spear Point and an explanation as to why the spear point is authentic. This is the 2nd time that Padnos College of Engineering and Computing will be represented at the Cast in Steel competition. GVSU took home the award for “Authenticity” for their version of a Celtic Leaf Sword in 2022.
During this project, the team of engineering students worked closely with Dr. Hedges, an anthropology professor at GVSU. Dr. Hedges connected the students with a Maasai elder, Joseph Ole Kipila, who advised the team on the spear’s design. Through conversations with Joseph Ole Kipila, the students learned that the Maasai spear point is not simply for utility or war, but a status symbol in Maasai culture. After speaking with Joseph Ole Kipila, mechanical engineering student, David Pevic, immediately contacted Dr. Hedges to let her know that his conversation with the Maasai elder was the “coolest” thing he’d done all year. When asked about the benefits of the collaboration between the engineering and anthropology departments, mechanical engineering student, Jarrett Folkert, said that the Cast in Steel project “Required the team to look outside of their engineering bubble” and that the “partnership between engineering and anthropology was amazing.” David added that working with Dr. Hedges made the Cast in Steel project meaningful and enriching.
When asked why they chose to compete in the Cast in Steel challenge, Jarrett shared that he thought it was a great opportunity to use his engineering knowledge and apply it to a different field. David was interested in joining the challenge again in 2023 to develop his project management and leadership skills. Jarrett and David would like to see the engineering and anthropology collaboration continue growing and for the Casting Club at GVSU to stay active following their graduation in Summer 2023.
When asked what advice they’d give to current engineering students, the team recommended that students, “Get their hands dirty.” An experiential learning experience, like Cast in Steel, allows students to develop real-world skills outside of math and science. The team agreed that being a part of the project further developed their leadership and team building skills necessary for their success in the classroom and in industry. Jarrett encourages students starting out in engineering to not feel discouraged if everything doesn’t come naturally. He shared that while it’s a challenging field, he “Loves engineering and can’t imagine life without it.”
The team would like to thank PCEC industry partners and sponsors, Eagle Alloy in Muskegon, Michigan and Hansen Balk Steel Treating Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The team also thanks Jason Bergman and Jason Klein for assisting with metallurgy and the engineering of the spear. Finally, the team thanks Dr. Abishek Balsamy Kamaraj for overseeing the project as their faculty mentor.