Brandon Twp.-When Robert Beaver arrived at Brandon High School on Tuesday morning an M-15 accident near the entrance delayed his arrival.
‘We are working to prevent such accidents,? said Beaver, referring to the auto mishap, to about 100 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics students who gathered in the high school’s performing arts center. ‘We are right now moving toward automated driving to make such collisions a thing of the past.?
Beaver, a chief engineer for Continental Corp, chassis and safety division in Auburn Hills who develop technologies for transportation, discussed careers in engineering with STEM students. The STEM program is for high school students who are seeking to enter careers in areas in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics as a career. Continental Corp. is an international automotive supplier, tire manufacturer and industrial partner that provides a variety of solutions among its five divisions, chassis and safety, interior, powertrain, tire and technology employing more than 208,000 in 53 countries.
‘Vehicle crash avoidance technologies in major emerging markets, which includes the United States, is key to the future as populations and the number of drivers on the road increase,? he said. ‘Thirty-two thousand die in car accidents each year’it’s just not necessary. ‘Stop the Crash? program was rolled out earlier this year and through our technologies the number of fatalities will be reduced to zero. That’s our goal.?
Key in reducing the crashes are today’s interconnected vehicles which utilize GPS and other developing technologies. .
‘Engineers are needed as these technologies develop,? he added. ‘Today there is one person for every three engineering jobs out there. Engineers are especially needed for software programming. Granted, programming for the auto industry is just not as exciting as (programming for) games, so it’s difficult to keep new engineers interested. Right now we have to go overseas to find engineers.?
Beaver’s presentation was coordinated by Patty Dzbanski, STEM engineer instructor at Brandon High School, and is part of the state certification process.
‘Last year I put together a package to get STEM certified so we can receive state funding,? she said. ‘Part of the certification is a STEM advisory board that includes industry professionals, parents and students. We need to have more field experience, but it’s difficult to get the students out of class for that, so we’ll bring them in to the classroom.?
Dzbanski added that engineers like Beaver will be visiting the high school next year.