Honeywell is putting its corporate weight behind efforts to encourage young people to become engineers. It is sponsoring a $2500 scholarship to help re-energize Houston [Texas] Independent School District's students about pursuing careers in engineering.
Norm Gilsdorf, president of Honeywell's Process Solutions (HPS) division, announced the scholarship would be open to all high school seniors in the Houston Independent School District, and be paid to the winner's engineering school for the 2011-2012 school year. Students must write a personal essay, discussing how they would use an engineering career to make the world a better, more sustainable place.
The Honeywell Engineer of the Future Scholarship program also aims to help dispel myths about engineering and show students that engineers will play a vital role in making the world more environmentally sustainable.
"Many people equate fields like chemical engineering to older industries, such as the hydrocarbon industry. However, the fact is, the planet needs engineers to create and drive new industries that will help save our environment," said Gilsdorf. "Alternative fuels and clean energy sources are born in places like chemical engineering laboratories, which makes the need for chemical engineering students all the more urgent. Engineers are critical to our planet's future, and the purpose of this scholarship is to help raise awareness of this important fact. You can't get ‘green' without engineers."
In addition, Honeywell is sponsoring its annual student competition designed to inspire innovation in the process industries. The competition is now open to students pursuing degrees in technical fields at accredited colleges and universities in North and South America. The Honeywell Users Group (HUG) student competition challenges students to design automation solutions to common problems facing process manufacturers.
Also, this year students can choose to design a plan that solves critical plant issues using either wireless technology or simulation software. Selected students will present their winning entries to manufacturing companies and potential employers at the annual Americas Honeywell Users Group Symposium, held each June in Phoenix, Ariz.
