Penn State Pullers engineering design team wins two international awards

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State Pullers, a student engineering design team in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, won the Test and Development Award and Sportsmanship Award at the International Quarter Scale Tractor Student Design Competition in Peoria, Illinois, this June.

The International Quarter Scale Tractor Student Design Competition is one of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers student competitions. In the 26th year of the contest, teams from 18 universities competed. Teams receive a stock engine and tires, and must design and develop a tractor within the competition rules.

According to the competition website, industry experts judge the designs for “innovation, manufacturability, serviceability, safety, sound level and ergonomics.” Team tractors are tested through maneuverability, durability and tractor pulls, and machines must pass a strict technical inspection. Teams also deliver presentations detailing the manufacturability of the tractors to judges who are professional engineers.

James Dietrich, recent graduate of the agricultural engineering program and captain of the Penn State Pullers during the 2022-23 school year, described the competition as “the ultimate experience” for engineering students.

“We used every single piece of our education throughout this entire process,” Dietrich said. “Anything we learned on structuring teams, organizing and logistical efforts went into this, on top of all the technical engineering. Personally, I think I used knowledge from pretty much every single course that I took throughout my four years at Penn State.”

The Penn State Pullers brought both an A Team and X Team to this year’s competition. The A Team designs a new tractor, while the X Team modifies or redesigns a tractor entered in a previous competition year, according to the competition handbook.

The Test and Development Award is given by industry judges during the design judging stage. During their presentation, the Penn State Pullers discussed the iterative prototyping used this year, such as 3D printing, mock testing and finite element analysis, in which the systems first are tested on the computer before actual creation, Dietrich said.

The team also won the Sportsmanship Award, which is awarded by the other competition teams. Dietrich noted the sportsmanship at the competition itself is “admirable,” with teams frequently lending needed tools or parts to one another.

This year, the Puller’s X Team embodied sportsmanship when a neighboring team needed a specific tractor part, said Randall Bock, assistant research professor of agricultural and biological engineering and a co-advisor to the Pullers. The X Team was done competing, and members dismantled their tractor to allow the neighboring team to access the needed part.

“It really speaks to the quality of the individuals involved — they didn’t have to do that,” said Bock, who explained that these actions took place around 11 p.m. after a long competition day. “They could have said, ‘We’re tired and going home. We have a big day tomorrow, and we’re out of here.’ But they hunkered down and went above and beyond.”

Suat Irmak, professor and head of agricultural and biological engineering and another co-adviser of the Penn State Pullers, explained how the competition and awards help increase the visibility of the department and the College of Agricultural Sciences.

Traveling to represent Penn State at an international competition is something to be proud of, Irmak said, adding, “Our students have been doing an amazing job implementing what they learn in the classrooms in practice. It is an excellent example of integration of theoretical knowledge with practice to produce a good product and learn a lot along the way.

"This is way more than a club. There are so many different things involved in this process,” he continued, explaining that the team must recruit new members, identify goals and objectives, raise money, and design and build a tractor, often meeting multiple times a week and working hard all year to accomplish all this. Praising Dietrich’s leadership of the team, Irmak said, “James is an excellent leader, a great team player and a great personality. This accomplishment shows how good leaders can work with excellent team members and make good things happen.”

Irmak also mentioned plans to create an official course from this activity to provide a more official platform and enable students to take credit for their year-long hard work. He said, "The fact that our students work hard as a team all year-long and travel to represent the department, the college and Penn State itself is wonderful and a winning process, but the fact that our students bring home two prestigious awards takes the experience to a different level. I am very proud of all of our students and the advisers.”

Employers also recognize the value of the competition, and students can share these experiences during job interviews, Bock pointed out. All members of the Penn State Pullers gain hands-on experience in manufacturing, which involves successes and failures.

“Even if they’re failing, they’re still learning,” he said. “They’ve turned those failures into successes as they keep going with it.”

The awards also showcase the resurgence of the Penn State Pullers, according to Dietrich. The organization was dormant for several semesters during the COVID-19 pandemic and fully emerged in the 2021-22 school year. Dietrich explained that last year’s goal was simply to participate in the competition. This year, the team continued to grow in membership and performance, adding an X Team, filling new student leadership positions and increasing its budget.

“Our goal this year was to get out there and improve in every category, and to do that was one thing, but then to come away with a couple awards was something else entirely. It means that our team is on the right track,” Dietrich said.

The opportunity to build the tractor and participate in the competition wouldn’t be possible without strong financial support, said Jude Lui, associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering and another co-advisor to the Penn State Pullers. Lui expressed gratitude to the families of student members who helped provide food, beverages and a canopy at the competition.

Dietrich noted that student organization travel grants offered by the College of Agricultural Sciences also have been a "life saver” in helping bring students to the competition. The Pullers also fund-raised through merchandise sales and a lawnmower clinic with the student chapter of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

The Pullers team is supported by the department through lab space and other resources. The designated space, known as Pullers’ Bay, is in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Building’s fabrication and design lab.

The Penn State Pullers is entirely student run and managed and is open to students of any major looking to gain hands-on technical and mechanical skills and professional experiences. Interested students can fill out an interest form on the Penn State Pullers website. Students also can look for the Penn State Pullers at the College of Agricultural Sciences Involvement Fair and the campus-wide Involvement Fair this fall.

This year the Penn State Pullers were sponsored by MI Windows and Doors, Big B Manufacturing, John Deere, Danfoss Powering Solutions and LINAK. More information about sponsorship opportunities is available on the Penn State Pullers’ website.