Jason Koski/University Photography

Al George, the J.F. Carr Prof of Mechanical Engineering and adviser to the Cornell FSAE race-car team, describes the student-built race car to Chet Huber, left, president of OnStar, during Huber's daylong visit to the College of Engineering March 16. Looking on at Huber's right is Butch Darrow '92, captain of GM's Cornell Team, a group of alumni at GM who work to maintain an ongoing partnership between their company and the college. Copyright © Cornell University

General Motors has extended for another five years its ongoing support of several educational programs within the College of Engineering. During a visit to campus March 16, Chet Huber, president of the GM subsidiary OnStar, presented two checks for $90,000, one representing the final year of a previous five-year grant and another for the first year of a new five-year $450,000 grant.

Huber is GM's "key executive" assigned to maintain a connection with Cornell, which the company has designated as one of 10 "key partnership schools." Also active in maintaining the relationship is Herbert "Butch" Darrow '92, superintendent of production at GM's Orion Assembly Center and captain of a team of Cornell alumni working for GM who participate in recruiting and other activities in the GM-Cornell relationship. Huber's visit included a day of recruiting, discussions with faculty whose research bears on OnStar's interests and meetings with student project teams.

The funding will support diversity programs in engineering, the master's of engineering degree program, the LeaderShape program and student projects, including the formula SAE race-car team, the Mini Baja and CUSat satellite projects.

A number of faculty members in the School of Operations Research and Industrial Engineering and in the field of systems engineering have had active research collaborations with GM, with funding of about $2.3 million over the last 10 years, and several GM employees have taken Cornell courses under the company's Technical Exchange Program.