Wayne State University is launching the first engineering curriculum in the nation focusing on the electrification of the automobile, and it has a few million in federal stimulus funds to make it happen.
The U.S. Dept of Energy gave the university a $5 million grant to set up bachelors and masters degree programs dealing with the emerging sector. The idea is to help start training the next generation of engineers to tackle fuel-efficient automotive technology.
"We have created and standardized programs that I don't think exist anywhere else," says Mumtaz Usmen, dean of the college of engineering at Wayne State University.
Wayne State's Electric-Drive Vehicle Engineering programs are following the transformation of the automotive industry from the gas-powered engine to hybrid and electric-only propulsion systems. The transformation is expected to accelerate as automakers race to meet the new 2020 CAFÉ standards.
Expect to see more hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles, and electric and fuel cell cars. Wayne State's new degree programs cover all of these areas and relate them to alternative energy sources. The new programs (a bachelor of science in Electric Transportation Technology and a master of science in Electric-Drive Vehicle) are set to begin this fall.
"This will be the type of curriculum to provide them with the background to be successful and for the automotive industry to be successful," says Jerry Ku, director of electric drive engineering graduate program at Wayne State University.
Source: Mumtaz Usmen, dean of the college
engineering at Wayne State University and Jerry Ku, director of electric drive
engineering graduate program at Wayne State University
Writer: Jon Zemke
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