Clarke Scholarships given to six institutions for 2002-03

Maxine Rosen
ASME Operations

ASME will distribute $36,000 in scholarship money to six universities that won a Clarke Scholarship because of their mechanical engineering or mechanical engineering technology department's support of ASME activities.

Winners are City College of New York, Northeastern University, the Oregon Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University, the University of South Carolina and Virginia Tech.

The scholarship recognizes ASME student sections for the quality and variety of experiences and opportunities they provide for their members, while rewarding departments with the means to do more for their students. A condition of the award is that the money be used for scholarships for incoming freshmen who have an interest in mechanical engineering. Names of student winners will be announced in the fall.

The department head and advisor at the six schools are all ASME members. These faculty members have benefited from and contributed to the Society in numerous ways.
Each department head will determine the number and amount of scholarships along with the procedures and criteria for selecting student winners.

Richard Benson, an ASME Fellow who heads the mechanical and nuclear engineering department at Penn State, said, "It is hard to imagine what a career in mechanical engineering would be like without ASME. I am extremely grateful that, with the Clarke Scholarships, the student chapter will become even stronger." Last year the group was cited as the College of Engineering's most outstanding student organization.

Abdel Bayoumi, who heads the mechanical engineering department at the University of South Carolina, noted the increased visibility and edge that the scholarship gives to recruiting quality students into the mechanical engineering profession.

John Cipolla, an ASME Fellow who chairs the mechanical, industrial and manufacturing engineering department at Northeastern, said that he expects the scholarship to provide an additional incentive to first-year students to become involved in ASME.

City College is an urban school that serves many needy students who must work to cover tuition and living expenses. Feridun Delale, ME department chair, anticipates that the Clarke Scholarship will be a great help to City students and should increase participation in ASME activities.

The Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT) is inviting some 300 potential fall 2002 mechanical engineering technology freshmen to apply for the awards.

At Virginia Tech, the department will give up to six scholarships to students interested in mechanical engineering and leverage the scholarships with matching funds for students who declare mechanical engineering their major the following year.

The university itself has recognized ASME and the Virginia Tech ME department, which have a close working relationship, with a special award and cash prize for "Improving Campus Climate."

Charles Reinholtz, recipient of the 1995 Student Section Advisor Award, cited some of the group's noteworthy activities. "The student section serves as host for employers who recruit engineering students; and organizes and runs numerous evening industrial seminars, noontime 'lunch and learn' meetings, plant tours and student-industry social gatherings.

"ASME has helped the department and college recruit women and minority students through a number of programs, including the annual Engineering Perspectives Conference, which encourages careers in engineering," he said.

Each of the winning student groups provides a myriad of invaluable experiences for members. Advisor Eric Mockensturm said, "The student section at Penn State has a strong reputation within the university and is one of its most active engineering organizations."

There are, for example, "regular general meetings, sometimes attracting over 100 people. Because of the student section size and level of activity, numerous corporations ask to sponsor these meetings. Representatives from companies such as Dow Chemical, Ford, GM, Ingersoll-Rand and Praxair speak at these meetings to inform students about opportunities at their companies," Mockensturm said.

The result is that students within the department have a direct link to corporate recruiters. Researchers from Penn State have spoken about such topics as nanotechnology, thermo-acoustic refrigeration and condition-based maintenance.

Joe Holm, the ASME managing director of finance and administration, spoke at one meeting about the top 10 financial mistakes young engineering professionals make.

Bayoumi noted that the South Carolina section "is involved in professional development, community service, design projects, exam preparation and recreational activities. In two of the last three years, it won the regional Ingersoll-Rand Competition, which fosters the development of engineering students into well-rounded professionals."

Jamil Khan, the group's advisor who is active in the ASME Heat Transfer Division, elaborated on design projects sponsored by the section. "The Solar-Powered Boat is a year-long project to design and build a boat that is fast and energy efficient. Boats will compete against other schools from around the nation and world. The University of South Carolina team has won in three of the past four years. This has added recognition to the university and the ME department."

Tim Brower, faculty advisor at OIT, told of the student section's successful projects, including two recent Diversity Action Grants from ASME. "The first year, we hosted about 20 high school girls at a 'Women in Engineering Conference.' This past spring, 44 girls from a 90-mile radius participated. As a direct result of our efforts, our department has seven female students compared to one student last year. We are now writing a third proposal. This year, we want to emphasize retention of our new freshman females."

Brower was awarded an American Society of Engineering Educators mini-grant to present the results of the OIT Women in Engineering Conferences at its national meeting.
At the 2001 Regional Student Conference, Northeastern won six awards, including first place in both the Old Guard Technical Presentation Competition and in the Student Design Contest for its region.

John Rossettes, an ASME Fellow and the group's advisor, said, "The Northeastern ASME student section complements college life of ME and MET students by offering academic, leadership and social activities. NU-ASME offers trips to places like Fenway Park and the Museum of Science. In an effort to give back to the community, NU-ASME participates in fundraisers such as the Walk for Hunger, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, the Walk for Epilepsy and NU Service Day."

For many years, the City College Section has participated in the annual Regional Student Conference. Since 1993, it has placed first often more than once in the Regional Design, Old Guard Oral, Poster and Ingersoll-Rand Competitions.

The money for this year's Clarke Scholarships was made possible by a bequest from Lucille Clarke to the ASME Foundation and ASME Auxiliary. The Board on Engineering Education, the Foundation and Auxiliary administered the selection process. For more information about the Clarke Scholarship, contact David Soukup, executive director of the ASME Foundation, at soukupd@asme.org.

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