Gryphon Mawhorter from Purdue Polytechnic's guitar lab returns with his latest creation: a guitar made of the old basketball court from Mackey Arena. An auction for the item will begin at the Purdue vs. IU men's basketball game, and will support the guitar lab's continued success.
guitar-making
First-of-its-kind Gibson guitar partnership enhances students' experiential learning
Purdue Polytechnic’s School of Engineering Technology has announced a collaborative partnership with Gibson, the leading guitar manufacturer. This marks Gibson's first higher-ed partnership of this kind, embarked upon because of the unique nature of the "guitar lab" at Purdue.
Purdue Polytechnic Institute’s Mechanical Engineering Technology program partners with Gibson
A pioneering alliance in experiential learning to create expert future luthiers
Guitar lab student forges his own path with Polytechnic curriculum
Purdue Polytechnic's "guitar lab" remains one of Purdue's most popular courses. Gryphon Mawhorter’s lifelong passion for building guitars caught the attention of Mark French, who teaches the course. French appointed Mawhorter, a junior in audio engineering technology, to lab supervisor — and Mawhorter is now charting his own unique path in the Polytechnic.
STEM Guitar honored with Gerhard Salinger award
STEM Guitar, a project led in part by Purdue Polytechnic’s Mark French, was honored with the Gerhard Salinger award by the International Technology and Engineering Educators Association.
Engineering Technology team’s printed circuit board design improves electric guitars
Purdue Polytechnic’s Davin Huston and Mark French, along with Kathryn Smith, a former graduate student in Huston’s lab, have created a flexible, printed circuit board that makes electric guitars better for both players and manufacturers.
How a guitar-building class can teach lessons in manufacturing, STEM and self-worth
February 11 is National Get Out Your Guitar Day. If you’re a Purdue student who doesn’t own a guitar, don’t fret! Purdue Polytechnic’s Mark French teaches a course in which you get to build one. He also leads a national program that teaches teachers how to lead guitar-building courses at their own schools.
Guitar-building STEM education initiative impacts 20,000 students nationwide
With grants from the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education project, Mark French, along with two dozen other college professors and high school teachers, integrated the building of guitars with lessons in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Make a guitar, get interested in STEM
Researchers are betting that high school courses in guitar making are an effective way to encourage 19,000 students to continue studying STEM subjects.
The National Science Foundation agrees, and it has awarded the same group a three-year grant to take their curriculum to technology teachers across the country. The project is titled “LEAD Guitars in STEM.”