Contact: Phil Hearn
Barbara Wertheimer, secretary and program officer for DENSO North America Foundation, presents a $30,000 check to Glenn Steele, interim dean of Mississippi State's Bagley College of Engineering. The gift will fund the purchase of a Pro 800 dynamometer that MSU engineering students will use in designing and building a small formula-style racing car for international competition next year. Also participating in the presentation ceremony were Keith Hodge (l), interim head of MSU's mechanical engineering department and Russell Bearden, supervisor of staffing for DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee at Maryville, Tenn.
A $30,000 gift to Mississippi State should provide a technological lift to a student engineering team that will design and build a small formula-style racing car for international competition early next year.
DENSO North America Foundation has awarded the check to the university's Bagley College of Engineering for the purchase of a Pro 800 engine dynamometer, a tool designed to measure vehicle horsepower.
Barbara Wertheimer, secretary and program officer for DENSO presented the check. Also participating in the ceremony was Russell Bearden, staffing supervisor at DENSO Manufacturing Tennessee. One of the company's largest North American operations, the Maryville facility has been the location for numerous MSU students serving as interns or cooperative education participants, and as permanent employees after graduation.
James Woroniecki, senior DENSO/Tennessee vice president and a member of the DENSO Foundation board of directors, said, "Mississippi State University has a wonderful engineering program and, with this grant, we hope to strengthen our relationship with MSU for the automotive industry's future generation of engineers."
"This equipment will enhance the hands-on learning experience for students in vehicle design competitions," said Glenn Steele, interim MSU engineering dean. "It is an important step towards our goal of providing world-class workspace and equipment for our student project teams."
An MSU team will compete for the first time since 1996 in the formula competition of the Society of Automotive Engineers scheduled next May in Pontiac, Mich. The Formula SAE event features student members who must conceive, design and fabricate small formula-style racing cars, then compete with those cars.
Team members for the formula competition include senior industrial engineering major Sarah Allen of Tremont; and mechanical engineering majors Kenny Brister, a senior from Osyka; Michael Ishee, a junior from Madison; Brad Warner, a senior from Brandon; Jacob Davis, a senior from Pass Christian; and Matthew Smith, a junior from Grenada. Other students from a mechanical systems design class also are assisting.
In previous years, Mississippi State also has competed in the SAE's Mini-Baja competition that features all-terrain, off-road, amphibious vehicles racing and running an obstacle course on land and through water. In 2002, the MSU team placed first in design and finished eighth overall out of 129 teams in that competition.
This year, the SAE team will focus its energy exclusively on the SAE Formula competition.
The SAE at MSU has a competitive history dating back to 1977. Although MSU teams consistently have scored well in the SAE events over the years, SAE faculty adviser E.W. "Bill" Jones noted they frequently have had problems with engine performance and drive-train efficiency. The DENSO gift will address that problem.
"The dynamometer will provide the ability to properly tune the engine for maximum performance," said Jones, an emeritus professor of mechanical engineering who continues to teach classes. "It also will allow testing of the engine under controlled loading and under more uniform conditions than field tests."
DENSO North America Foundation is the first charitable foundation to be established by a Japan-based automotive parts supplier in North America. The foundation provides grants to higher education institutions for educational and/or scientific purposes, with an emphasis on engineering and technology. Funded in 2001 by DENSO's North American headquarters-DENSO International America-the foundation to date has awarded more than $1.6 million to 16 institutions of higher education.
Japan-based DENSO Corp., the third largest automotive supplier in the world, employs 95,000 people in 31 countries with global sales of $24.2 billion for fiscal 2003. The corporation supplies such products as power-train control systems, electronic systems, thermal systems, information technology systems, and small motors to all the world's automakers.
For more information, contact Julie Lemons, the college's advancement coordinator, or (662) 325-8098.