Neighbor News
Oakland University SAE chapter president wins engineering scholarship
For excellence in design engineering and leadership, Brandon Taseski was recognized by the American Society of Body Engineers Foundation.
Brandon Taseski, mechanical engineering student and president of the Oakland University Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) student chapter, recently received recognition and scholarship funds from the American Society of Body Engineers (ASBE) Foundation.
Taseski was nominated for his academic capability in engineering design and demonstrated leadership as an Oakland University student. This recognition included a $500 scholarship from the ASBE Foundation. He was nominated by Mechanical Engineering departmental chair and SAE team faculty adviser Brian Sangeorzan, Ph.D., and Amy Butler, executive director of OU Inc, a SmartZone Business Accelerator.
“The award is for a combination of design engineering and leadership,” Sangeorzan said. “Brandon has certainly participated in some component design on our car, but more importantly he has done a great job to orchestrate all the SAE team activities, bring in new members and oversee the construction of the 2015 car.”
To qualify for the award, Taseski met the following requirements:
- major in body design, design engineering, or a closely related discipline,
- sophomore standing, having completed at least 30 credit hours,
- minimum of 3.0 GPA or equivalent,
- written recommendation from a faculty member,
- exceptional potential in design and demonstrated leadership ability.
“Brandon has exhibited not only accomplishments in his academic progress at the university, but he has also stepped up and become a leader for the student organization, Formula SAE, which competes on an international basis,” Butler said. “His commitment to the Formula SAE team demonstrates how business, planning, and organizational leadership are valuable assets with the engineering educational experience.”
Taseski said it’s a great feeling to be recognized for the time and work spent in the classroom and with the SAE team.
“Balancing time between classes, homework, internship, the Formula team, and sleep is not an easy task, but I feel it’s all worth it in the end,” Taseski said. “The duties of team president are far greater than I originally anticipated. The title of president is more of an umbrella term for project manager, team captain, PR representative, and event organizer. With a bit of luck and support from the team itself, I’ve been able to handle all of these responsibilities.”
As part of the Formula SAE team, Taseski has taken part in the OU Involvement Fair, Engineering and Computer Science Day, the Grand Opening of the Engineering Center, SECS Student Organization Fair, the North American International Auto Show, Autorama at Cobo Center, the Woodward Dream Cruise and more.
Taseski said he appreciates the recognition and the financial award.
“It’s nice to see that foundations are rewarding students who exhibit dedication toward education for themselves, as well as other students,” he said.
The ASBE Foundation was established in 2002 as a nonprofit foundation “to provide means for any individual to achieve education in all phases of vehicle design; to encourage secondary education students to consider and pursue careers in vehicle design; to keep the vehicle design workforce abreast of the changes in technology; to fund research in areas that are related to vehicle design; and to fund vehicle design related curricula development.”
OU INC is a Michigan Designated Smartzone which advances the economic strength of the region by transitioning industry and university innovations into commercial success. Learn more at oakland.edu/ouinc.
The SAE team will roll out its 2015 vehicle at the Formula SAE Michigan event May 13-16 at Michigan International Speedway. About 120 SAE collegiate chapters are expected to compete, each vying for top rankings on the state, national and international level.
Following the SAE Michigan event in May, Oakland’s schedule also includes stops at Barrie, Ontario and Lincoln, Nebraska in June, Toronto in September and various local events through the summer.
To learn more about Oakland’s SAE chapter, email ousae@oakland.edu or visit grizzliesracing.com
