Honda Partnership Highlights

Class of 2009 Honda Scholars Named

Fifteen math medal recipients from the Class of 2009 were selected to receive the Honda Partnership scholarship at Ohio State University's College of Engineering for the 2009-2010 academic year. Congratulations to the following Class of 2009 graduates who will attend OSU in the fall as engineering majors:

Aaron Bauer, Lima Lehman Catholic High School
Joseph Burkhammer, Bellefontaine High School
Stewart Carpenter, Delaware Hayes High School
Alexa Garrison, Worthington Christian High School
Kyle Ginaven, Hillard Darby High School
Calvin Goodman, Bishop Ready High School
Joel Jackson, Elida High School
Jeff Kremer, New Bremen High School
Patrick McHugh, Springfield Catholic High School
Jason Miller, Gahanna Lincoln High School
Stacey Sherman, Minster High School
Douglas Stauffer, St. Francis DeSales High School
Rachel Steiner, Shawnee High School
Zachary Tangeman, Marysville High School
Ryan Winfree, Madison Christian High School

Honda-OSU Partnership Recognized by Carnegie Foundation

The Honda-OSU Partnership was one of 15 Ohio State University outreach initatives to receive national recognition by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Cited as a positive models for community outreach and community-engaged curricula, Ohio State's recognized initiatives include collaborations with community partners, businesses, other universities, and other nations.

More than 1,000 students have benefited from programs through the Honda-OSU Partnership. Students of all ages are targeted with activities including an on-campus engineering awareness program for high school students; a mentoring program to enhance engineering awareness in underrepresented groups in middle and high schools; the Math Medal program for high school students in central Ohio; and education and collaboration for engineers in the workplace to advance the American automotive industry. To learn more about the 2008 Community Engagement Classification, go to http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/news/sub.asp?key=51&subkey=2821.

Fifth Annual Math Medal Ceremony held Nov. 6

For 129 high school seniors in central and western Ohio, their outstanding math skills definitely add up! The seniors, recognized as their school's top math student on Nov. 6, received the fifth annual Math Medal award from Honda of America Manufacturing and Ohio State University 's College of Engineering .

The Class of 2009 math medal scholars were joined by more than 170 family members, teachers and friends at a breakfast ceremony in their honor on Nov. 6th at Honda of America Manufacturing in Marysville. Along with a pewter math medal presented by the Dean of OSU's College of Engineering, each student received a $200 savings bond, certificate and other gifts from Honda and Ohio State University. Their high schools received a perpetual plaque to recognize each year's math medal winner.

This year's honorees were the largest class to receive the Honda-OSU Math Medal award since the academic award program began five years ago. The Class of 2009 included 8 new participating high schools and 56 female math medal scholars (44%).

Class of 2009 Math Medal Recipients Notified

The fifth annual Honda-OSU Math Medal award will be given to 128 seniors in the Class of 2009 from high schools in central and western Ohio this fall. Selected by their respective high schools as the best math student in the Class of 2009, the seniors will receive their math medal award during a special breakfast ceremony at Honda in Marysville on Thursday, Nov. 6, 2008 .

Award letters were sent to the 128 math medal winners the first week of September along with a congratulatory letter to the high school principal. The Honda-OSU Math Medal award consists of a pewter math medal, a $200 savings bond and an opportunity to apply for a $2,500 scholarship at the Ohio State University College of Engineering for the 09-10 academic year. Only math medal recipients can apply for one of the 12 scholarships sponsored by the Honda-OSU Partnership.

On Sept. 24, the fourth class of Honda scholars will begin their college careers at Ohio State's College of Engineering, bringing the total number of Honda scholars selected from the Math Medal award program to 38.

With a solid Math Medal program established in central and western Ohio, the Honda-OSU Partnership plans to expand its academic award program to southwestern Ohio school districts for the Class of 2010.

Class of 2008 Honda Scholarship Recipients Announced

13 members of the Class of 2008 have accepted the Honda-OSU scholarship to the Ohio State University College of Engineering, which is awarded only to Math Medal winners each year. Congratulations to the following seniors who will become Honda scholars at OSU next September for the 08-09 academic year:

• Jude DuPart, Eastmoor Academy
• Brian Durkee, Greenon High School
• Katherine Fisher, Whitehall-Yearling High School
• Jennifer Flis, Bishop Hartley High School
• Clayton Ford, Parkway High School
• Timothy Heinlein, London high School
• Ashley Hoblit, Covington High School
• Thomas Lange, Piqua High School
• Jessica Roeder, Marion Catholic High School
• David Seger, Ansonia High School
• Hok Hei Tam, Dublin Coffman High School
• Daniel Turowski, Big Walnut High School
• Beth Yoak, Central Crossing High School

Math Medal Ceremony Honors Class of 2008 Scholars on Nov. 2

On Friday, Nov. 2, 105 seniors from high schools in central and western Ohio attended a special breakfast ceremony to receive their Class of 2008 Honda-OSU Math Medal award at Honda of America Manufacturing in Marysville. A total of 113 math medals were awarded to the Class of 2008 in the 15-county area surrounding Honda. This year's class of math medal honorees saw an increase in female recipients with 42 females, or 37% of the class receiving the award, compared to 29% in the Class of 2007.

One hundred fifty-six high schools surrounding Honda were asked to nominate their best senior math student for the award, which includes a $200 savings bond, a pewter math medal and a scholarship opportunity at Ohio State University's College of Engineering.

Students and their guests are treated to a buffet breakfast, complimentary photos of the event along with other gifts from Honda and Ohio State during the awards ceremony. Honda President Akio Hamada welcomed the math medal honorees to the ceremony along with William Baeslack, Dean of the OSU College of Engineering, who presented the medals.

Honda-OSU Partnership Among Top 5 in Nation

Business Facilities magazine, a leading publication for corporate executives, has ranked the Honda-OSU Partnership among the top five industry-university partnerships in the U.S., along with Stanford, MIT, the University of California system and Penn State. The Honda Partnership Program is a collaboration between Ohio State and Honda of America Manufacturing that supports initiatives in education, research and public service. The Business Facilities article describes industry-university partnerships as innovative, synergistic relationships that combine the best resources of academia and industry to fuel economic development. Read the article.

Class of 2007 Scholarship Winners Announced

Congratulations to the third group of Honda-OSU Partnership Math Medal recipients who were awarded $2,500 Honda-OSU scholarships to the College of Engineering at Ohio State University for the 2007-08 academic year:

• David Backus, Village Academy
• Samantha Bernert, St. Francis Desales High School
• Titus Chen, Dublin Coffman High School
• Zachary Curth, Delphos Jefferson High School
• Logan Halderman, Franklin-Monroe High School
• Kirsten Houge, Westerville Central High School
• Ronni Nimps, Lima Shawnee High School
• Ali Waris Rizvi, Lima Bath High School
• Cory Schwartz, Wapakoneta High School
• Trace Searles, Westerville South High School
• Andrew Sliwinski, Westerville North High School
• Donald Weaver, Groveport Madison High School
• Adam Wietholter, Bluffton High School

Center for Occupational Health in Automotive Manufacturing Opens May 2

A new research center sponsored by the Honda-OSU Partnership will explore ergonomic issues in the automotive manufacturing process that impact worker safety as well as skyrocketing health care costs. The Center for Occupational Heath in Automotive Manufacturing (COHAM) officially opened May 2 at at 1314 Kinnear Road in Columbus.

Equipped with a "real world" manufacturing environment, new production technologies and cutting edge analysis methods, COHAM is focused on developing cutting edge health risk assessment techniques for the high tech manufacturing technology critical to Ohios economy. Moreover, COHAM is the only university-based full scale manufacturing operation in the world where automobile manufacturers as well as suppliers can test the effects of manufacturing systems on the health of workers. This approach will provide quantitative cost-benefit information to manufacturers so that they can make production decisions based upon scientific evidence. For more information, see COHAM.

Class of 2007 Math Medal Awards Ceremony held Nov. 3 at Honda

One hundred and five seniors in the Class of 2007 were honored for their exceptional academic achievement in mathematics in the third annual Honda-OSU Math Medal Award ceremony held Nov. 3, 2006 at Honda of America Manufacturing in Marysville.

Public and private high schools in the 15-county area surrounding Honda of America Manufacturing in Marysville were asked to select their best Class of 2007 math student based on performance at the end of the student's junior year for the annual award sponsored by Honda and Ohio State University's College of Engineering.

Math Medal recipients and their guests were recognized at a special buffet breakfast and awards ceremony, where each student received a pewter math medal and a $200 savings bond. In addition, math medal recipients are eligible for a $2,500 scholarship at the Ohio State University College of Engineering for the 07-08 academic year.

Because math skills are essential to any technical career field such as engineering, Honda and OSU's goal in sponsoring the math medal award and scholarship program to recognize the academic excellence of area students and provide incentives for students interested in engineering careers to pursue their higher education goals at The Ohio State University's College of Engineering and their future employment goals at Honda of America.

After three years, the Honda-OSU Math Medal Award continues to grow annually with 120 recipients honored for the Class of 2007, 90 recipients for the Class of 2006 and 52 for the Class of 2005. Scholarship application numbers also increased, with 46 Math Medal recipients from the Class of 2007 submitting scholarship applications for next year's freshman class at Ohio State University. The Class of 2006 had 26 Math Medal winners compete for 12 annual engineering scholarships.

Class of 2006 Honda Scholarship Recipients Announced

Congratulations to the 14 Class of 2006 Honda-OSU Partnership Math Medal recipients who have accepted the $2,500 Honda-OSU scholarships to the College of Engineering at Ohio State University for the 2006-07 academic year:

• Chris Bartlett, Bellefontaine High School
• Samuel Cooler, DeSales High School
• Ibraheem ElGallad, Eastmoor Academy
• Gordon Fox, Westerville South High School
• Craig Kaiser, Coldwater High School
• Robert Kappers, Troy High School
• Matthew Knapke, St. Henry High School
• Stephen Mayo, Dublin Coffman High School
• Abbey McDonald, Lima Bath High School
• Justin Morone, North Union High School
• Kevin Raymond, Pleasant Local High School
• Benjamin Seger, Ansonia High School
• Alex Stilwell, Sidney High School
• Robert Waters, Franklin Heights High School

Thirty-three of the 90 math medal recipients from the Class of 2006 submitted applications to Ohio State University, with 26 vying for the Honda-OSU Engineering Scholarships. Last year, five math medal winners from the Class of 2005 received the initial Honda-OSU Engineering scholarship awards and are currently enrolled at OSU.

Ohio's First Hydrogen Refueling Station Opens at CAR

The May 5, 2006 opening of Ohio's first hydrogen refueling station at Ohio State's Center for Automotive Research was made possible through support of the Honda-OSU Partnership Program. Designed to further research into fuel cell and alternative powertrain technologies for the transportation industry, the refueling station is a major step in advancing engineering on prototype fuel cell vehicles.

Math Medal Ceremony Recognizes Class of 2006 Scholars

More than 70 central Ohio high school seniors were recognized for their academic accomplishments in mathematics at the second annual Honda-OSU Partnership Math Medal Ceremony on Nov. 11, 2005 at Honda of America Manufacturing in Marysville.

A total of 90 seniors were selected by high schools in the 15-county Honda hiring area to receive the annual math medal award from Honda and The Ohio State University's College of Engineering based on each student' s outstanding mathematics achievement at the end of the junior year. In addition to receiving the math medal award, the 90 math medal recipients from the Class of 2006 can apply for one of 12 Honda-OSU Scholarships worth $2,500 annually at the Ohio State University College of Engineering. The scholarship, renewable up to four years, can be combined with any other scholarships and grants offered to the student by OSU.

In addition to the math medal award, this year's recipients received a $200 savings bond along with a commerative CD case and tee shirt from the Honda-OSU Partnership Program. The students and their guests also enjoyed a buffet breakfast, met with officials from Honda and Ohio State's College of Engineering and received their math medals from OSU Engineering Dean William Baeslack during the presentation ceremony.

Last spring, 156 high schools in the Honda hiring area were invited to select their best senior math scholar based on academic performance at the end of the student's junior year. The partnership's goal is to recognize superior math scholarship at high schools in the 15-county area. In addition, the scholarships will offer incentive for students interested in engineering careers to pursue their higher education goals at The Ohio State University's College of Engineering and their future employment goals at Honda of America.

Application materials for the Class of 2007 math medal awards will be sent to high school principals and guidance counselors in May 2006.

Honda Robot ASIMO Entertains OSU Audiences

Honda's humanoid robot, ASIMO, was a big hit at Ohio State University in January 2005, drawing standing room only crowds at seven demonstrations for school groups and the public. During the three-day event Jan. 27-29, more than 4,000 robotics fans packed the 600-seat Thurber Theater at the Drake Performance Center to see the world's most advanced humaniod robot walk, talk and yes, even participate in a dance contest (see photo above).

ASIMO stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility. As part of ASIMO's North American educational tour to top engineering and computer science colleges across the country, Honda's loveable little robot demonstrated its amazing human-like movement (which includes climbing stairs) during the live, high-tech demonstrations. OSU professors Eric Westervelt from Mechanical Engineering, along with David Orrin and Steve Yurkovich from Electrical Engineering, introduced ASIMO, highlighting the university's accomplishment in robotics research over the past 20 years.

After each demonstration, Honda engineers answered questions about the years of research and development the company has invested in robotics with the goal of making people's lives better. The result of real world applications of science and engineering, ASIMO's design, development and operation bring together the disciplines of mathematics, physics, anatomy, computer science, and engineering.

In partnership with Honda of America Manufacturing, the Ohio State University College of Engineering and Honda-OSU Partnership Program, sponsored ASIMO's visit to Columbus.

Math Medal Awarded to 52 Seniors in Class of 2005

Congratulations to 52 high school seniors in the 15-county Honda hiring area who received the new Honda-OSU Partnership Math Medal award for the Class of 2005. Selected by their high schools for outstanding mathematics achievement, 45 of the Math Medal recipients were honored at an awards breakfast on Friday, December 10, 2004, at Honda of America Manufacturing in Marysville.

Math Medal recipients and their guests enjoyed a buffet breakfast, met officials from Honda of America Manufacturing and Ohio State University and received their math medal along with a CD case and a $50 gift card from the Honda Partnership Program.

This select group of Central Ohio Math scholars has now earned an exclusive opportunity to apply for a new Honda-OSU Partnership Scholarship at The Ohio State University College of Engineering for the 2005-06 academic year. Up to 12 new HPP scholarships in the amount of $2,500 per year, will be awarded to Math Medal recipients next spring for the 05-06 academic year at Ohio State University. In addition, the scholarship can be renewed for a total of four years.

In August, 138 high schools in the Honda hiring area were invited to select their best senior math scholar based on academic performance at the end of the student's junior year (2003-04 academic year). The partnership's goal is to recognize superior math scholarship at high schools in the 15-county area. In addition, the scholarships will offer incentive for students interested in engineering careers to pursue their higher education goals at The Ohio State University's College of Engineering and their future employment goals at Honda of America.