Michigan Tech President Curt Tompkins and Harvey Bell, engineering director, Performance Integration, GM North American Operations, hold mock check symbolizing General Motors' $200,000 gift to MTU.Michigan Tech President Curt Tompkins and Harvey Bell, engineering director, Performance Integration, GM North American Operations, hold mock check symbolizing General Motors' $200,000 gift to MTU.
HOUGHTON--The General Motors Corporation Foundation has given Michigan Tech $200,000 to support a corporate partnership program with the University that will enhance the educational experience of MTU students in a variety of disciplines.
"Strong, interactive relationships with its corporate partners has been a priority of Michigan Tech throughout its history," said James Baker, associate director of MTU's Corporate Services. "The General Motors/Michigan Tech partnership has been and continues to be a significant and mutually beneficial alliance. General Motors has consistently had an active recruiting program at Michigan Tech, complemented by a variety of sponsored research projects, a cooperative education partnership, and participation by a number of GM representatives on University advisory boards."
Baker said this latest GM gift will support eight different programs designed to enhance the education of MTU students and better prepare them for successful professional careers.
The School of Business and Economics will receive $15,000 to refurbish an existing conference room with multimedia capabilities. The multimedia conference center will take full advantage of advancements in presentation technology to enhance the experience of business students as well as those enrolled in other programs focusing on team-based projects. Features of the room will include a high quality multimedia computer system, complementary full-scale audio and videotape equipment, projection equipment, and a rear projection "smart board." The room will be used for student presentations of project and course work results for instructors and peers, as well as for industrial sponsors of specific projects.
$15,000 of the General Motors grant will go toward providing scholarships for undergraduate students pursuing manufacturing-related studies. Recipients will be selected by Michigan Tech, but GM is expected to provide guidance on the desired award levels, target populations, and grade point average requirements.
Michigan Tech's Minority Programs will receive $40,000 to support precollege outreach programs that offer career awareness, build confidence and academic skills, and provide an introduction to college for potential students, especially those who are traditionally under represented in theareas of engineering and science. The funds will also be used to sponsor enhanced Engineering Youth Program Explorations, especially laboratory experiences, projects, and other activities focusing primarily on mechanical and electrical engineering.
The largest portion of the GM grant--$100,000--will go toward establishing the General Motors Energy Laboratory in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics. "Courses taught in this advanced lab will reinforce the principles taught earlier in thermodynamics and fluid dynamics," said Baker. "Early in the semester, students will learn the fundamentals of measurement techniques for pressure, temperature, velocity, and flow rate using hands-on experiences. They will use the most modern data acquisition methods and processing techniques throughout their courses.
"Various systems and cycles discussed in other energy related classes will also be investigated in this laboratory where students will apply the knowledge they gained in their initial experiences. The lab will use devices from everyday life situations to provide relevance to the oftentimes intangible concepts presented in their lectures."
For three years, General Motors has supported a pair of graduate fellowships in the areas of noise, vibration, harshness, and manufacturing controls. $14,500 will go toward continuing funding for the manufacturing controls fellowship to develop modeling and feedback control techniques to improve laser-welding processes.
The Michigan Tech Career Center will receive $2,500 from GM as an annual sponsorship to support a web-based system for posting student resumes for prospective employers.
MTU's Earth Day 2000 program will get $5,000 to develop and carry out a program that celebrates Michigan Tech's and General Motors' commitment to environmental stewardship. The program will promote environmental awareness in the student body and community and is designed to help ensure that the engineering, scientific, and business leaders of tomorrow are aware of and responsive to environmental issues.
Finally, $8,000 of the GM gift will provide support for the six University-sponsored engineering competition teams that have joined together as Michigan Tech Racing Teams. The teams--Future Truck, Solar Car, Formula SAE, SAE Mini-Baja, SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge, and SAE Aero--each focus on a specific goal, but all share the common racing theme. These competitions involve nearly 500 students and challenge them to apply their theoretical knowledge while building practical skills. Participating students come from many disciplines, including mechanical, electrical, chemical, and materials engineering, as well as business and the humanities.
The GM donation will go toward Michigan Tech's Leaders for Innovation Campaign, which intends to raise more than $100 million for the University by 2003. Featured objectives of the campaign include investing in faculty, students, innovation, leadership, and quality.
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01/31/00