HI-TEC 2009 Industry Recognition Award Presented to SME Education Foundation Director Bart Aslin

PRLog (Press Release) – Jul 02, 2009 – DEARBORN, Mich. ── Bart Aslin, director of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation and a resident of Dexter, Mich., is this year’s recipient of the  HI-TEC Industry Recognition Award being presented July 21, 2009 at the High Impact Technology Exchange Conference (HI-TEC) in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The HI-TEC Industry Recognition Award recognizes key industry personnel for outstanding contributions to promote technology education and career awareness. Nominees for the award must have demonstrated impact on technology education on both a local and national level.

As director of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers Education Foundation (SME-EF), Bart Aslin tirelessly works to support—and fund—innovation in technology education. In his travels throughout the nation, Mr. Aslin evaluates exemplary programs to support and expand. He also oversees a variety of scholarship opportunities. Since 1980, the Foundation has provided funding in excess of $29 million in grants and scholarships.

Mr. Aslin is also instrumental in the nationally recognized high school engineering program Project Lead the Way® (PLTW), particularly in bringing PLTW to middle schools through the Foundation’s Gateway Academies. In addition, with Mr. Aslin’s support, the Foundation is funding the implementation of a new career awareness website, www.careerME.org introduced by the National Center for Manufacturing Education.

In short, Mr. Aslin’s leadership of the SME Education Foundation professional industry organization is widely regarded as essential to the future of technology education in the United States. Without Bart, the Foundation would lack critical resources, energy, and enthusiasm.

This award represents HI-TEC’s commitment to recognize industry colleagues who make significant contributions to the education and training of today’s technology workforce.

The High Impact Technology Exchange Conference (www.highimpact-tec.org) is produced by a consortium of National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education centers and projects and is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and contributions from corporate and industry partners such as Intel.

About the SME Education Foundation:
The SME Education Foundation is committed to inspiring, supporting and preparing the next generation of manufacturing engineers and technologists in the advancement of manufacturing education. Created by the Society of Manufacturing Engineers in 1979, the SME Education Foundation has provided more than $29 million since 1980 in grants, scholarships and awards through its partnerships with corporations, organizations, foundations, and individual donors. Visit www.smeef.org and award-winning website, Manufacturing is Cool!