The Next Generation of Manufacturing Engineers Program for the Automotive Sector Program awards scholarships to mechanical and industrial engineering students at the bachelors, masters and doctoral levels who desire to prepare for careers in automotive manufacturing. A total of 29 scholarships per year for four years are awarded. Scholarships are awarded based on financial need and academic promise with attention to developing a diverse workforce of automotive engineers.
The intellectual merit focuses on an interdisciplinary and vertically integrated approach, that is, approaching manufacturing from a total supply chain perspective that considers the vehicle from design through assembly to customer delivery.
Broader impacts includes outreach to K-12 students and teachers, and energetic recruitment and retention of women and African-American undergraduate and graduate students. Student recruitment, support and mentoring are be provided by the BellSouth Minority Engineering Program and the local student chapters of the Society of Women Engineers, the National Society of Black Engineers, the Institute of Industrial Engineers, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Automotive Engineers. This project ensures a supply of well-trained engineers in the growing automotive industry in the Southeast and helps encourage further development of this industry within the region, which has historically been economically and educationally disadvantaged.
