Feb. 3, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Amy Hewes
805-756-6402; ahewes@calpoly.edu
$50,000 Gift from Gene Haas Foundation Benefits
Cal Poly Engineering Students
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly announced a $50,000 gift from the Gene Haas Foundation that will help future manufacturing engineering students.
“Manufacturing engineers make things by definition,” said Jose Macedo, industrial and manufacturing engineering department chair, “and this gift will make things happen for those students.”
The Haas foundation is committed to supporting Cal Poly engineering by addressing critical needs: scholarships for top students and an advanced laboratory that will attract cultivate and launch them.
The donation includes $30,000 to enhance the Industrial & Manufacturing Engineering Department’s already strong laboratory resources with an infusion of new hardware, software and the latest technology.
The gift also provides $20,000 to establish Gene Haas Foundation Scholarships. Awarded to five students over a span of four years, the scholarships will help attract top freshmen to Cal Poly’s manufacturing engineering program.
In recognition of the gift’s impact, the lab has been renamed the Gene Haas Lab for Robotics and Automation.
“We’re fortunate to have a long-time partnership with Haas,” said Macedo. “The company is an outstanding example of productivity gains that automation makes possible.”
“As a leader in the fast-changing world of machining technology,” said Peter Zierhut, foundation manager and director of corporate relations for Haas Automation, "Haas has a special appreciation for Cal Poly’s role in producing future-ready manufacturing engineers, and we place a high value on what Cal Poly’s Learn by Doing focus means for the manufacturing industry.”
“A strong economy depends on manufacturing. With the help of the Gene Hass Foundation and other supporters, we are committed to developing innovative leaders who can bring about a renaissance in American manufacturing,” said Macedo.
The Gene Hass Foundation is the philanthropic arm of California-based Haas Automation.
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