Members of the Class of 2025 Micaiah Landis, Adam Stoltzfus, Laura Benner, Hellena Gebremedhin, Lleyton Stutzman, and Rebecca Tezazu, guided by faculty mentor Stefano Colafranceschi, spent hundreds of hours during the past school year restoring and improving the Spitz A-4 planetarium projector at 91短视频鈥檚 Suter Science Center. The projector, originally installed in 1968 when the science center was built, has spent most of its time in storage since the M.T. Brackbill Planetarium closed in 2007. 

On Tuesday, April 29, the engineering team unveiled the product of their hard work with a planetarium show鈥攖he first in more than 15 years, according to Stutzman鈥攁ttended by about two-dozen guests. Titled 鈥淪tars for a Night in Spring,鈥� the show was adapted from a program first performed by former planetarium director John Horst 鈥�60 and featured synthesizer music he composed. As the lights cut off inside the Discovery Room, the domed ceiling transformed into a sea of stars, while members of the team pointed out constellations and shared the legends behind them.

Guests included past and present STEM faculty, staff, and alumni with ties to the planetarium. Joan Horst 鈥�66, who recalled watching shows there as a student, said she hadn鈥檛 seen one since her late husband, Professor Emeritus John Horst, retired nearly 20 years ago. 鈥淚鈥檓 amazed they were able to convert it from electronic to computer controls,鈥� she said of the restoration project.

For Joe Mast 鈥�64, longtime professor and planetarium director from 1986-2005, watching the stars and galaxies drift across the dome brought back memories of leading Sunday afternoon programs and teaching astronomy classes at 91短视频. 鈥淚t was a very popular class,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e had 65 seats in here, and it ran every semester, with rarely more than four or five empty seats.鈥�

A trio of alumni at the show had spent a semester in an engineering design class disassembling the projector to understand how it worked. One of those alumni, Andrew Troyer 鈥�19, said, 鈥淚t was cool to see someone take something you鈥檝e done to the next level like this.鈥�

History of the planetarium

In 1968, the Suter Science Center at 91短视频 was completed, featuring the M.T. Brackbill Planetarium and a then-state-of-the-art Spitz A-4 star projector. At the time, the projector cost about $25,000, equivalent to roughly $230,000 today when adjusted for inflation.

The projector replaced the university鈥檚 Spitz A-1 model, which had been used at the Vesper Heights planetarium atop the 91短视频 Hill since 1946. The original A-1 model is still on display in the Discovery Room. Both planetariums are said to have attracted annual crowds of up to 4,000 visitors, from astronomy students to local residents to nearby grade school students

When John Horst retired in 2007, 91短视频 was left with no prospective astronomers on the faculty to continue the planetarium鈥檚 programming. And, the 40-year-old projector had mechanical problems that would have been costly to fix or replace. As a result, the planetarium closed and the projector was lowered into storage beneath the floor. The space was converted into a classroom for workshops and a display area for large specimens, such as the giant Kodiak brown bear that stood guard above the projector in the center of the room. After renovations to the science center, the projector was brought back out and placed on a pair of tables.

Resurrecting the projector

The six students on the team installed new motors, sensors, and a Raspberry Pi mini-computer to control the movement of the projector. The large panel of switches and dials that once operated the machine has been replaced with a web application that can be accessed wirelessly from any internet-connected device. Enter a location, date, and time into the app, and the projector can simulate the night sky as it would have appeared then and there. 鈥淲e had some friends in here who were checking out the sky at the time they were born,鈥� Benner said.

The students also designed, welded, and built a custom steel-and-wood base to support the projector and allow it to be stowed away when not in use. To darken the room, they sewed heavy-duty blackout curtains to cover the many surrounding windows.

During the restoration, the xenon bulb inside the projector鈥檚 star ball broke, and students scrambled to find a replacement, eventually swapping it out for an LED bulb. In total, the team spent about $2,400 on the project.

Members of the team said their goal for the project was not only to bring the projector back to life but also to make it more accessible and user-friendly. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very easy to use,鈥� Stutzman said during a presentation at 91短视频鈥檚 ACE Festival on April 17. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to know anything about astronomy.鈥�

By documenting their work, they said future students will have a clear understanding of the projector鈥檚 inner workings and will be able to perform additional upgrades. For instance, a future engineering capstone project could focus on restoring the planet orrery, which projects five planets, the sun and Earth鈥檚 moon but is currently inoperable.

Professor Daniel King, director of 91短视频鈥檚 engineering program, said he had long kept the idea of revitalizing the planetarium in the back of his mind. When he saw the team of engineering students searching for a project, he proposed they take it on. He said there鈥檚 potential for future planetarium shows, open to community members of all ages. 鈥淚 would love for that to happen,鈥� King said.

Read more about the history of the 91短视频 planetarium below:

The stars, projected onto the dome of SSC 101鈥攆ormerly home to the M.T. Brackbill Planetarium and now part of the D. Ralph Hostetter Natural History Museum鈥攂ecame a reality thanks to recent renovations and improvements by a group of 91短视频 engineering students. For their senior capstone project, Adam Stoltzfus, Laura Benner, Hellena Gebremedhin, Micaiah Landis, Lleyton Stutzman, and Rebecca Tezazu, under the guidance of faculty mentor Stefano Colafranceschi, restored and modernized the 91短视频 planetarium projector, which was originally installed in 1968 and had been unused since 2007.

On Thursday, as part of 91短视频鈥檚 eighth annual Academic and Creative Excellence (ACE) Festival, the students presented their work and led demonstrations of the star projector. Their project was one of 32 oral presentations and 64 poster sessions, featuring more than 200 students throughout the day across campus. Poster and presentation topics covered a wide range, from the effects of energy drinks on physical activity and an analysis of homemade kombucha to the repatriation of cultural artifacts at 91短视频 and the rise of populist movements throughout history.

Click here to view the schedule from this year鈥檚 ACE Festival.

The campus-wide academic conference, held on Wednesday and Thursday, offered students the chance to learn from their peers and showcase their research, creative projects, and papers. It also provided an opportunity to continue conversations sparked by the university鈥檚 annual Common Read. 

91短视频 President Dr. Susan Schultz Huxman, providing opening remarks before the keynote address on Wednesday, discussed how fitting the festival’s name is. 鈥淚 love that acronym,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e have many 鈥楢CE鈥� scholars at 91短视频, both among the student body and faculty.鈥�

Author David Williams delivers keynote

The ACE Festival kicked off on Wednesday morning with the keynote by the Rev. Dr. David Williams, whose novel When the English Fall served as the 91短视频 Common Read for the 2024-25 school year. Written as the diary of an Amish farmer near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the novel follows him as he tries to protect his family and way of life in the wake of a catastrophic solar storm that brings about the collapse of modern civilization. It was one of Amazon鈥檚 top 100 books of 2017, was selected as a New York Times Book Review Editor鈥檚 Choice, and was nominated for the 2019 International Dublin Literary Award.

Williams, pastor of Poolesville Presbyterian Church in Maryland, read selections from his book and answered questions from moderator Dr. Marti Greene Eads, professor of English at 91短视频. In between readings, Williams spoke about the dangers of doomscrolling social media, the imaginative visions that inspired him to write his novel, and the ways in which our world, and its climate, are changing.

鈥淗as anyone had to clean Texas dust off their car recently?鈥� Williams asked the crowd at Lehman Auditorium. 鈥淚鈥檝e lived in Virginia since 1975, and I can鈥檛 ever remember that happening鈥攐r seeing skies tinged with color and clouded by smoke from northern Alberta. For those who鈥檝e lived in Virginia a while, when鈥檚 the last time you remember something like that?鈥�

Watch a recording of the keynote .

Faculty members receive Excellence in Teaching Awards

The 16th annual 91短视频 Authors鈥� Reception and Awards Presentation recognized and celebrated the winners of the university鈥檚 Excellence in Teaching Awards. Professors Chad Gusler, Hannah Ferguson, and Hilary Moore were announced as this year鈥檚 recipients. 

For testimonials about each award winner, as well as the recipients of the student writing awards, student academic awards, and the names of the 16 faculty authors recognized for their published scholarly works, click on the post below:

Senior VACA majors unveil art installations

Digital media and communication majors Oslyn Mejia Gomez, Noussaiba Garti, and Zack Furr presented their senior capstone projects at the Margaret Martin Gehman Gallery and Lee Eshleman Studio Theater during an opening reception on Thursday afternoon. Inspired by street art, graffiti, and paintings of Christian icons, Mejia Gomez used wheatpaste to affix portraits he captured with a fisheye lens. Garti drew from cinema set design and crime scene storytelling to create an installation that explores personal growth and the journey of overcoming self-destructive habits. Furr incorporated photography and interviews with survivors of sexual assault to share their stories with empathy.

At the exhibition, Professor Jerry Holsopple announced 91短视频 junior Jasmin Ruiz as the recipient of the Matthew Alan Styer Scholarship Grant, awarded for “exceptional skill and dedication in design and/or photography.”

Matthew Alan Styer 鈥�05, a graduate of 91短视频鈥檚 Visual and Communication Arts (VACA) program, worked for 91短视频鈥檚 marketing and communications department as a videographer, designer and photographer until 2008. The scholarship endowment honors the memory of Styer, who died from leukemia at age 30 in 2011.

The sound of musical excellence

A student recital at Lehman Auditorium featured performances from vocalists Elie Hoover (soprano), Erin Batten (soprano), Eli Stoll (baritone), Mac Rhodes-Lehman (bass), trombonist Caden Bradley and pianist Fernando Sanchez. Student musicians were accompanied on piano by Harold Bailey. 

Posters made perfect

The winners of this year鈥檚 STEM Celebration poster competition are: 

Independent research division

• First place: Abigail Forrest, Maria Longenecker, Elaine Miranda Perez, and Marciella Shallomita
  Knockdown of Cox6b (Complex IV) and ATPsyn饾湻L (Complex V) of the electron transport chain in Glutamate Neurons increases sleep and lifespan of Drosophila
• Second place: Aja Laun, Malachi Peachey-Stoner, and Ella Richer
  Improved methods of eDNA detection of salamanders using probe-based qPCR analysis
• Third place: Iris Anderson, Daisy Hamsher, and Sarah Peak
  Emotional regulation, bullying, and mental health: Exploring the interplay and outcomes in college students

Projects division

• First place: Micaiah Landis, Adam Stoltzfus, and Lleyton Stutzman
  Design and control of a low-cost inverted pendulum system
• Second place: Mariana Acosta and Levi Stutzman
  Bridging communities: Constructing a suspended footbridge in Eswatini

Upperclass division

• First place: M Lashway and Ben Perkin
  Effects of D. stramonium on C. elagans behavior and motility
• Second place: Seungmin Cha, Elaine Miranda Perez, and Whitney Showalter
  Analysis of homemade kombucha
• Third place: Alex Belisle, Maria Longenecker, and Kate Stutzman
  Physiological response to pain: Male and female pain tolerance under cold stress

General chemistry division

• First place: Bennett de Tenley and Emily Donovan
  Comparing the antioxidant capacity of store-bought vs farmer’s market fruits
• Second place: Apekshya Karki and Isaac Miller
  Race to relief: Which tablet dissolves faster-gel or firm tablet?
• Third place: Ephrata Amare and Melissa Miller
  How does the pH of a beverage affect ibuprofen dissolution?

The posters from STEM disciplines (biology, chemistry, environmental science, psychology, biomedicine, and engineering) were judged by an interdisciplinary panel of 91短视频 STEM faculty, with winners selected in the four divisions. 

Toys for tykes

Students in the Nursing Care of Children course designed and built toys tailored to the gross and fine motor skills, social skills, and cognitive development of an infant or child of the assigned age, aiming to engage each area of growth through play. Those students were Odesa Elezi, Elijah Spicher, Abigail Foltz, and Gabriella Seal.

Swipe through the photo gallery below for more pictures from the 2025 ACE Festival.

Thanks to everyone who contributed their time and efforts to making the festival a success, including Kirsten Beachy, ACE Festival Chair, and Diane Farrar, ACE Festival Coordinator, 91短视频鈥檚 Language and Literature Program, Convocation at 91短视频, Clay Showalter, Daniel House, Aramark staff, Shannon Grinnan and Pioneer College Caterers. Additional thanks to the many faculty mentors and session moderators and to those who helped set up poster shows, administrative support staff, anyone who provided festival assistance, and to everyone who presented and shared their work!

Photos by Macson McGuigan/91短视频 and Jon Styer/At Ease Design & Consulting