Boeing Awards Grants to McCormick Student Groups
A joint faculty-administration team recently awarded $25,000 in grants from the Boeing Company to eight McCormick student groups.
In addition, $15,000 was given to the EXCEL program, a five-week program is designed to encourage minority students to perform at the top of their class from the time they begin their engineering education.
The grants were awarded to:
Northwestern Formula Racing - $4,000
The Northwestern Formula Racing team is a 35-member student group that designs, builds, and competes in an open-wheel, formula-style racing car. The group’s main purpose is to provide Northwestern students with hands-on design and fabrication experience that goes far beyond what is taught in the classroom. The funds they received from the Boeing Grant will be used for the composites, engine/drivetrain, and spaceframe materials for the car.
Northwestern Microgravity Group - $4,000
The Northwestern Microgravity Research Group is a five-person undergraduate team that has designed and implemented an experiment to be tested in microgravity through the NASA Reduced Gravity Student flight Opportunities Program. The money they received will be used for the electrical and structural materials for their experiment as well as to help with travel expenses to Houston, TX to fly with their experiment aboard a NASA microgravity aircraft. This group is also doing commendable outreach to involve area high school students.
NU Solar Car - $ 4,000
The Northwestern University Solar Car team is a group of 45 undergraduate engineers who are dedicated to enhancing the education of its team members through hands-on, project-based experiential learning. The NU Solar Car team takes on the real-world challenge of designing, building and racing a solar powered car. The NU Solar students have taught themselves the basics of aerodynamics, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and Fluent – the CFD software for running a simulated wind tunnel, to help build a fast, durable, sustainable vehicle. The money they received will go towards the purchase of specialized solar cells that are used to power their new car.
Northwestern ASCE - $ 4,000
The Northwestern University Chapter of American Society of Civil Engineers is a dedicated group of 26 undergraduate students in the Civil Engineering department. Their goal is to provide another dimension to their civil engineering education by participating in professional activities and student competitions. The Boeing award will go towards the fabrication of their 2012 Steel Bridge, which they will design, build, and compete with in the ASCE Great Lakes Student Conference. The skills they will learn will include designing and building a structure that can withstand loads and be efficient, drafting software to help communicate their design, and learning about material properties.
Design for America - $ 2,250
Design for America (DFA) is a 50-person student organization that inspires students to use design to create local and social impact in their own communities. DFA provides students with valuable real world experience in managing client relationships, leading interdisciplinary teams, and applying their expertise to complex problems through design. The funds received from this award will fund team expenses and prototype development.
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers - $2,250
The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) is a 17-student organization that promotes the advancement of all ethnicities, majors, and backgrounds in education, employment, and society. They will use the funds received to subsidize travel expenses for the students to attend SHPE’s annual conference in Anaheim, CA. At this conference, they will strengthen their leadership skills, learn about career opportunities, and enhance their academic performance by working with other chapters around the United States and interacting with individuals from various companies.
Engineers for a Sustainable World - $ 2,250
Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) is a 75-member organization comprised of McCormick and other students working on four local and five international sustainability-related projects. Some of the international projects include water infrastructure improvements in the Philippines and wastewater treatment in Panama. The local projects include GRIN (GReen It Now), which performs energy audits of on and off campus buildings, a successful launch of a 17 kW solar photovoltaic system on the roof of the Ford Building, and drafting a plan for the university to increase its use of clean and renewable energy. The money that ESW receives from this grant will be used to finance ESW’s recruitment and leadership development programs.
National Society of Black Engineers - $2,250
The Northwestern University chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE-NU) is a 41 student group dedicated to increasing the number of undergraduate and graduate minority students in engineering and promoting public awareness of the opportunities available to minorities in engineering. The money they receive from the Boeing grant will be used to assist with the funding of their convention scholarships.