AMES, Iowa — As president of the Ag Systems Technology (AST) Club at Iowa State University, senior Colin Connor has afforded himself many of the opportunities the club has provided to develop the skills necessary for a successful career in agricultural engineering.
"I chose the ag systems technology major because of the continuing, changing technology in agriculture," said the Swansea, Ill., native, who will graduate in May 2016. "As an AST major, there are many problem-solving and hands-on class work."
Connor was among several classmates when the Assoc. of Equipment Manufac-turers (AEM) announced the winners of its agricultural engineering student awards during special ceremonies at last month’s annual international meeting of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE). ISU’s AST Club won first place in the Technology Branch of the competition, with Kansas State University’s Agricultural Technology Management Club taking second.
"The AEM award means a great deal to the AST Club and the Ag Systems Technology program at Iowa State," Connor said.
Steven Mickelson, ISU professor of agricultural engineering, who chairs ISU’s Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Department, said for the competition the AST Club submitted its annual report highlighting its goals, membership, activities and accomplishments.
According to the competition rules, there is no required website design or layout; however, specific content is required to receive full points, with points awarded for both site content and site design.
Mickelson said the basis for determining the placing in the AEM Trophies Competition is the report required of each student engineering or technology branch entering the competition, which the AST Executive Officer team compiled for the contest.
"The format has evolved from paper to electronic, and is now moving to cyber-space," he said. "The judging committee evaluate student branch/department websites following the established criteria in the application form.
"In the new format, more emphasis is placed on making information accessible, providing quality programs and services and keeping a permanent record."
Connor said the award shows "the activities we have throughout the year are strong for our program, which expand on AST learning and potential career opportunities for our club members." Established in 1973, the AST Club is an organization to acquaint students, industry and the general public with opportunities in the field of ag systems technology, Mickelson added.
"Their goals are to develop potential leadership skills and professional attitudes, as well as create a fellowship among all members," he said.
Mickelson said the AST Club regularly participates in the AEM’s Trophy Competition as part of the ASABE’s international meeting each year.
"The purpose of these awards is to recognize the student engineering branches and student technology branches with the most outstanding record of activities and achievements for the year," he explained.
According to Mic-kelson, the trophies competition began in 1935, and through the years the AEM has grown to include construction-related machinery, industrial and farm equipment, "and the nature and number of awards have increased."
"The objectives of this competition, however, have remained the same," he said: "To create better student branches. The report measures quality of student organizations by comparing them in the major categories.
"Besides the comparison with other student engineering or technology bran-ches, participation in this competition gives each student organization a permanent record of their activities and achievements for the year, thereby allowing them a chance to appraise their own growth throughout the year."
Mickelson believes what qualified the AST Club to win first in the technology branch is it "has strong student participation, especially with lawnmower services days and snowblower service day events.
"Their report was well-written and clearly documented the impact of the club on student engagement and learning," he said.
In addition, the award will help recruit the new incoming AST student club members, he said. "It is a very impressive award. They also received a cash prize of $1,000 to be used by the club for recruitment activities and other activities as needed. They also receive eight paid student AEM registrations for next year’s ASABE meeting, and an AEM industry speaker tour."
Winners in the 2015 Engineering Branch included: KSU, first place; and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, second place.
