SAE Foundation Celebration Raises Nearly $400,000 for STEM Education

More than 400 students, volunteers, donors, corporate partners, and members of the SAE Foundation community were in attendance at the SAE Foundation Annual Celebration 2022, held at the GM Heritage Center in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

Now in its 24th year, the sold-out event raised close to $400,000 to support SAE’s PreK through university STEM education program and recognize industry leaders whose accomplishments, commitment and generosity inspire the next generation of innovators.

Sixth graders Neriah Perkins and Paige McCullaugh opened the celebration, sharing their experiences with the A World In Motion® (AWIM®) Fuel Cell Challenge where student teams explore alternative power sources to design and build toy cars. “I really enjoyed AWIM this year. During the program, we learn a lot from our teachers and the volunteers who help in our classroom. It’s also fun being here tonight in person with students from other schools and not staring at everyone through a computer screen,” commented Paige.

Attendees were also able to get a glimpse of the SAE Collegiate Design Series™ (CDS). University students from Wayne State University, Kettering University, and Lawrence Technological University were on hand at the GM Heritage Center to showcase vehicles they designed and fabricated to compete in Baja SAE, Formula SAE, SAE Aero Design, and the AutoDrive Challenge™.

The night concluded with a number of prestigious awards which pay tribute to industry leaders and organizations for the contributions to the mobility industry and the communities they serve.

Mark Reuss, President, General Motors, was presented with the prestigious Industry Leadership Award for his work leading advancements in global automotive product development and engineering, as well as philanthropic commitments to revitalizing the Detroit metro area.

Bosch and the Bosch Community Fund received the AVL-sponsored Gordon Millar Award for their strong commitment to STEM education and early support in the development of the AWIM program and sponsorship of the SAE Foundation Annual Celebration.

Leslie Heinzen, Engineering Business Leader for Global Electronic Components and Subsystems at General Motors and Kanwar Singh, Technology Manager at the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, were recognized with the SAE Foundation DENSO Young Industry Leadership Award for achieving significant accomplishments in the mobility industry and for their potential for leadership growth.

Congratulations to all of our awards winners and nominees and thank you to all of the attendees, donors, and members of the SAE Foundation community for making the SAE Foundation Annual Celebration a huge success. It was truly amazing to be able to come together once again to celebrate STEM education.