Engineer Alert: ASCO Numatics Industrial Automation Engineering Scholarships

By Megan Patiry on January 24, 2014

Las Vegas came  into William (Daniel) Whitten’s life like an unexpected score.

The smile coloring Whitten’s voice was evident as he spoke about the moment he found out he was the 2013 recipient of the ASCO Numatics Industrial Automation Engineering Scholarship – and the unexpected bonus this included. He recalls stepping outside when his phone rang during a retreat with a research group at his Texas A&M campus, where they filled him in that he had won.

“I was really excited and surprised … especially excited when they said that – I didn’t realize this before – part of the award was going to visit the PACK EXPO. It happened to be in Las Vegas,” Whitten said.

Along with Vegas and the PACK EXPO experience, which is an educational event called the Amazing Packaging Race, Whitten also received a $5,000 scholarship to use toward his education in the engineering field, and now, the 2014 ASCO Numatic Engineering Scholarship is again accepting applications.

ASCO Numatics, a division of Emerson, is one of the world’s leading producers in fluid automation and pneumatics solutions, and is offering two $5,000 scholarships to engineering students majoring in an instrumentation, systems, electrical, mechanical, or automation engineering. According to a press release for the 2014 application openings, the scholarship is merit-based and candidates must maintain a 3.2 minimum GPA on a 4.0 scale, be a U.S. citizen and study at an accredited U.S. educational institution during the 2014/2015 academic year.

Photo by McLaren Photographic LLC via Flickr

Other than majoring in engineering, students are also considered for the scholarship based on their “potential for leadership and for making a significant contribution to the industrial automation engineering profession … particularly as it relates to the application of fluid control and fluid power technologies,” as stated on the ASCO Numatics Engineering Scholarship website.

In addition to the $5,000 scholarship award, ASCO Numatics will also provide $1,000 grants to the engineering departments in which the recipients are enrolled. As another added bonus, this year’s recipients will attend, like Whitten, the PACK EXPO International, this time in the Windy City: Chicago.

Megan Borz, another 2013 recipient of the scholarship from Buena, NJ, said in the 2014 press release that the scholarship paved the way for opportunities she may not have otherwise had due to finances.

“I have been able to focus more time on my coursework, athletics, applying to graduate schools, and applying for future career opportunities because I did not have the financial stress I had in previous semesters,” Borz said.

The ASCO Numatics scholarship program has, according to Robert W. Kemple, Jr., executive vice president, sales and marketing at ASCO Numatics, in the 2014 press release, awarded $60,000 in scholarships to 12 students and another $12,000 in grants to 10 U.S schools’ engineering departments.

“Engineers apply creativity and skills to transform innovation into reality,” Kemple said. “The ASCO Numatics scholarship program applies that same spirit by helping support leading students in their education to become the next generation leaders in industry and technology.”

Whitten agreed that the ASCO representatives were, ” … all really nice, friendly and welcoming, and placed a lot of emphasis on getting to know and wanting to support the next generation of students.”

He recalled the experience of the scholarship and the PACK EXPO as extremely educating and noted that it piqued his interest of the industrial automation technology field, which he hadn’t been entirely  immersed in before receiving the scholarship.

The deadline for applications is March 31, 2014, and Whitten encourages anyone who believes they may meet the criteria, even if they aren’t sure if industrial automation is for them, to apply.

” … because, as I said, I didn’t really expect that I would win. I think it’s a good opportunity to not only win some money, which is great, but to also learn about a pretty cool industry,” Whitten said.

Touching upon industries, I mentioned to Whitten at the end of our conversation that he was, indeed, on the right path to making money, whereas I, as a writer, may have a less certain monetary future.

He merely chuckled and reminded me that as long as, “we’re doing something we both love, it’s good.”

The truth within this statement cannot be touched on enough, and for all the engineering students out there, the ASCO Numatics Scholarship may just be the stepping stone you need on your journey toward pursuing what you love.

 

 

Follow Uloop

Apply to Write for Uloop News

Join the Uloop News Team

Discuss This Article

Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly

Back to Top

Log In

Contact Us

Upload An Image

Please select an image to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format
OR
Provide URL where image can be downloaded
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format

By clicking this button,
you agree to the terms of use

By clicking "Create Alert" I agree to the Uloop Terms of Use.

Image not available.

Add a Photo

Please select a photo to upload
Note: must be in .png, .gif or .jpg format