GM FYI Blog

GM & Lehigh University: A partnership for “real world” experience

By Jesse Clarke
Vehicle Dynamics Handling Engineer

Editor’s note: We asked Jesse to write about her experience at Lehigh. An engineer at General Motors, Jesse has held several different positions, from Red-X launch support on the Pontiac G6 to her current position at the Milford Proving Grounds.

A couple of weeks ago, I got the chance to travel back to my alma mater, Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Penn., to pitch an Integrated Product Development (IPD) project to the students there.

To avoid using another undefined acronym, here’s some background on the IPD project: Lehigh’s undergraduate mechanical engineering coursework requires a two-semester Integrated Product Development class. Other undergraduate majors also are allowed to take the IPD class as part of their coursework, although it’s not required. Together, students with different majors work together on a project from the beginning to end.

When I was at Lehigh as an undergrad, I was lucky enough to be a team member on the GM project at the time: the Blow/Suck nozzle. My team, consisting of mechanical engineering students and supply chain management majors, was given the challenge of designing a tool for cleaning out threaded holes on the inline five-cylinder engine. The hands-on nature of this project and interaction with the “real world” helped fuel my already existing motives to become an engineer in the automotive industry. We even got an all-expenses-paid trip to GM to present our final project.

Now, six years later, I’m on the other side pitching the 2007 GM project to the student body. Everyone looked really young (was it really that long ago?), but their enthusiasm was great. Thanks to my supportive exterior group specialists, we were able to offer an exciting project that covers the full range of product creation: an active rear spoiler. As seen on current vehicles like the Bugatti Veyron and Mercedes SLR, and even the Chrysler Crossfire and Porsche Boxster, we felt that this project would meet our goal of drawing interest from students of all majors and necessitating the creation of cross-major design and development teams.

I’m thrilled to announce that we succeeded and were awarded with three teams from Lehigh. These teams will be working hard for the next two semesters to produce an active rear spoiler that very well may be incorporated into future GM production lines or offered to automotive tuner enthusiasts as an aftermarket accessory.