{"id":65843,"date":"2016-02-24T21:14:22","date_gmt":"2016-02-25T02:14:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=65843"},"modified":"2016-02-24T17:17:45","modified_gmt":"2016-02-24T22:17:45","slug":"morrisville-state-college-students-turn-class-project-into-entrepreneurial-venture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=65843","title":{"rendered":"Morrisville State College Students Turn Class Project into Entrepreneurial Venture"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"From<\/a>
From left, Morrisville State College automotive students, Tyler Moravcik and Greg Stallone work on their class project. (Photo and story by Franci Valenzano, public relations associate).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

(Morrisville, NY \u2013 Feb. 24, 2016) A class project turned into an entrepreneurial venture for two Morrisville State College automotive technology students.<\/p>\n

Greg Stallone, of Long Island, and Tyler Moravcik, of Nineveh, put a savvy spin on an assignment in\u00a0\u00a0automotive Professor Ron Alexander\u2019s Advanced Powertrain Management class, which required them to disassemble and reassemble a transmission.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of just taking apart and rebuilding a transmission, we thought we would take our project a step farther and modify a transmission\u2014one that gives the driver complete control of shifting,\u201d Stallone said.\u00a0 Their project involved adapting a transmission\u2019s valve body, with their own modifications, to build the manual-shifting piece.<\/p>\n

Once it\u2019s perfected, they plan to take their industrious venture out of the classroom and into the streets.<\/p>\n

The concept, which Stallone said can cut down on fuel costs and appeals to performance car drivers,\u00a0generated from a similar project he read about in an automotive magazine. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting to think that something we are building could end up on the streets someday,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Work on the automotive innovation began after Stallone and Moravcik were selected to attend the SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association) show in Las Vegas last year. The show represents the most innovative and cutting-edge automotive aftermarket products.<\/p>\n

\u201cSEMA was a big influence in our plan to proceed,\u201d Stallone said of the prestigious show that sets the standards for the automotive industry. \u201cWe thought, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and maybe our dream would be possible with Morrisville\u2019s equipment and faculty expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Plans shifted quickly into gear when Stallone and Moravcik, both seniors in the college\u2019s automotive technology bachelor degree program, decided to blend their background and skills to capitalize on the idea.<\/p>\n

Morrisville provided them with all of the tools they needed to move forward with their concept, including access to a transmission dyno in the transmission lab of the college\u2019s state-of-the-art automotive facility. The dyno, which acts as the engine in a car, allows them to test the transmission multiple times and make essential modifications.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it is so labor intensive to swap transmissions, it would not have been possible without this equipment,\u201d Stallone said.<\/p>\n

Other departments also reached out to support their effort.<\/p>\n

With assistance from MSC Professor John Giess, Stallone and Moravcik were able to tackle one of their biggest obstacles, machining a spool valve for the transmission.<\/p>\n

While they are still working out some kinks, Stallone and Moravcik remain determined. \u201cWe are going to keep working on it until we perfect it,\u201d Stallone said.<\/p>\n

Their experiential spirit is evident in all corners of the college campus where students are immersed in hands-on learning, and utilizing\u00a0entrepreneurial processes in order to solve problems.<\/p>\n

A national leader in hands-on, experiential learning, Morrisville fosters the way for students aspiring to be entrepreneurs and business leaders through an array of classes where they create in-depth business plans, and also through running actual businesses at the college.<\/p>\n

Stallone and Moravcik are soaking up all of the transformational experiences Morrisville is providing them, namely the unique opportunities to build and diversify their skills.<\/p>\n

Their next stop is to venture out of the classroom and present their model at the new product showcase at next year\u2019s SEMA show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always thought I would be a mechanic or a technician, but now that I attended SEMA and saw the opportunities, I realize it is not impossible to be part of a big company or something bigger,\u201d Stallone said.<\/p>\n

And they plan to do it together.<\/p>\n

Plans are in the works to start their own business in one-off custom cars. They hope their newest idea will be one of the products that steers them in that direction.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Morrisville, NY \u2013 Feb. 24, 2016) A class project turned into an entrepreneurial venture for two Morrisville State College automotive technology students. Greg Stallone, of Long Island, and Tyler Moravcik, of Nineveh, put a savvy spin on an assignment in\u00a0\u00a0automotive Professor Ron Alexander\u2019s Advanced Powertrain Management class, which required them to disassemble and reassemble a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":65844,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-65843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=65843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/65844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=65843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=65843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=65843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}