Grant From Arconic Will Help Engineering Students Start Their Engines

On Thursday, November 29, Mechanical Engineering major Hannah Schnitzler, a junior, and Jodi Prosise, PhD, professor and chair of the Engineering Department, accepted a $10,000 grant from the Arconic Women's Network (AWN).

AWN also helps support the department's Introduce a Girl to Engineering event, which was established in 2014 and annually hosts approximately 500 girls between the ages of three and 13.

Recently recognized by Arconic for its continued volunteerism, AWN invited the St. Ambrose Engineering Department to apply for a $10,000 grant. Prosise said the department will enlist the funds to support the Baja SAE team.

Baja SAE is a program of the International Society of Automotive Engineers, which challenges engineering students across the globe to independently design, build and race an all-terrain vehicle. The Baja SAE program helps these future engineers to work as a team in real-life situations that incorporate building restrictions and deadlines.

SAU's Baja team, Sting Motorsports, is registered to race their vehicle in the 2019 Baja SAE Series June 6-9 in Rochester, New York.

Schnitzler is the Sting Motorsports Community Outreach chair. She said engineering has always been a creative outlet she enjoys sharing with others.

"I've always been a creative person, and engineering consistently introduces situations where one needs to think outside of the box," she said. "Studying at Ambrose has only further increased my interest in engineering."

Schnitzler is active in the annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering program precisely because of her interest in sharing her passion.

"I'm always happy to share my enthusiasm for engineering and see other girls gain interest in STEM fields," Schnitzler said. "This spring will be my third year organizing and running a booth at the Introduce a Girl to Engineering event."

"It takes a lot of work to put on the event, but the day of the event is so much fun and the kids really enjoy it," she added.

Prosise is equally passionate about expanding the number of women in the fascinating field of engineering, as well as proud that SAU is at the forefront of that cause.

"Our engineering department is currently comprised of eight professors, four of which are female," Prosise said. "You don't find that very often at other universities,"

The 2019 Introduce a Girl to Engineering event will be Tuesday, February 19 in the Rogalski Center.