CAAT Tracks
February 2016
Center for Advanced Automotive Technology
Working with educators and industry to drive the skills needed for the next generation of automotive technicians, engineering technologists, and designers.
In This Issue
Register Now to Attend the FREE 2016 CAAT Conference!
  
Please join us for the 2016 CAAT Conference, The Road to Autonomous Vehicles, which will be held on Friday, May 6, from 8:00 AM - 1:30 PM at Macomb Community College's South Campus in Warren, MI.
  
In addition to an outstanding keynote speaker, Jeff Klei, the conference will offer three Tech Talk sessions focused on the challenges, cyber security and infrastructure of automated & connected vehicles. Our speakers are: Steve Buckley, FCA Senior Technical Fellow for Electrical and Electronics, who will speak on the Challenges of Automated and Connected Vehicles; Jim Sayer, Director of the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and unofficial "Mayor of Mcity", who will speak on Infrastructure; and Sarah Fall, Associate Dean, Information Technology, Macomb Community College, who will speak on Cyber Security.
  
Attention Educators!
  
Travel expenses for community college and secondary school science and technology faculty and administrators may be reimbursed if traveling overnight - typically greater than 100 miles (one way) to the conference location. Visit our conference webpage today to learn more.
  
Thanks to our Sponsors!
Jeff Klei of Continental AG Named Keynote Speaker for the 2016 CAAT Conference!
We are very pleased to announce that Jeff Klei, President - NAFTA Automotive Divisions, Vice President Sales - General Motors Worldwide, Continental AG, will be our keynote speaker and will address the future direction of the automotive industry. Additional details about the keynote presentation will be provided in our next issue.
CAAT Named Finalist in Governor's Economic & Education Summit 2016 Best Practice Competition
  
The Governor's Economic and Education Summit Best Practice Awards is an opportunity for the State to recognize home-grown programs that contribute to the development, attraction and retention of talent in Michigan. The awards recognize that leaders in Michigan's private, public and non-profit sectors are dedicated partners who are making a positive impact in their communities.
  
The competition is intended to showcase successful strategies that can be replicated elsewhere. Eligible applicants from private, public and non-profit organizations had to demonstrate a successful, existing program related to talent development, attraction or retention, as well as a collaborative relationship with business, education and talent development partners.
  
The CAAT submitted an application under the "attract" category for its STEM program which strives to engage middle school students in activities that will encourage them to consider STEM related courses and/or careers, particularly those at the technician level in automotive design and engineering. CAAT activities included in the application were:
The Governor's Economic and Education Summit convened a selection committee comprised of private, public and non-profit leaders from across the state. Three finalists in each category were selected to compete at the summit, which will be held on March 15 in Grand Rapids, MI. CAAT Director, Bob Feldmaier, and CAAT STEM Coordinator, Robert Tonti, will participate in the competition with other finalists at the Summit.
CAAT Principal Investigator Interviewed
on Stateside Radio Show
  
CAAT PI, Joe Petrosky, Dean, Engineering and Advanced Technology, at Macomb Community College (MCC) participated in a Stateside radio interview on Michigan Radio, an NPR News Station, with Cynthia Canty on January 21. The Stateside program focuses on topics and events that matter to people all across the state and is hosted by Cynthia Canty and Lester Graham. The interview focused on Advance Michigan and the American Apprenticeship Initiative federal grant awarded to MCC in September to grow apprenticeships. Advance Michigan is an economic collaboration of governmental agencies, schools, and the business community that has brought millions of dollars of investment to Michigan.
  
As a result of the American Apprenticeship Initiative, MCC was awarded a $3.9 million grant to fund Michigan Apprenticeship Program Plus (MAP+). The project will target apprenticeship pathways in IT and manufacturing occupations. MAP+ with industry partners, will seek to create with the Department of Labor, an apprenticeship-able position in Digital Sculpting, an area with growing hiring needs in the auto industry. The grant will also enable expanded work with a range of employers and organizations including Goodwill Automotive and the United Auto Workers to create new apprenticeship opportunities. The program will serve 600 apprentices in the two largest metropolitan regions of Michigan, Detroit and Grand Rapids.
  
During the interview, Petrosky pointed out that "the next 10 years are going to continue to be very exciting in the automotive industry with the advances in automotive technology, including automated and connected vehicles and new skill sets in the IT world in the area of sensors and how vehicles communicate with each other."
  
Listen to the audio program (scroll down to the last of the 3 segments), with the Advance Michigan discussion in the final segment of the program.
CAAT PI Appointed Co-Chair of LIFT
(MI Workforce) Committee
  
The Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow (LIFT) organization, a CAAT partner, is an industry-led, government funded consortium that is "leading the nation in lightweight technology development." LIFT is part of the National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI), the federal initiative focused on coordinating public and private investment in emerging advanced manufacturing technologies. Early last year, the LIFT inaugurated their 100,000 square-foot facility in Detroit, MI. The building is designed to accelerate the transfer of new lightweight metals manufacturing technology from the lab to the production floor and to train workers to use the new processes. LIFT also anticipates another NNMI organization, the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI), will also have operations in their Detroit facility.
  
To assist in achieving LIFT's goals, Joe Petrosky, CAAT Principal Investigator, was recently appointed co-chair of the LIFT Michigan Workforce Committee. Emily Stover DeRocco, the LIFT Education and Workforce Director, leads and oversees the strategy and initiatives for all five states to achieve LIFT's workforce goal in developing an educated, skilled and ready workforce, competent and confident in using the new technologies being developed and deployed by LIFT and other Manufacturing Innovation Institutes.
  
The light-weighting of materials, including metals, is a key focus area in the automotive industry and one of CAAT's key technical interests in our mission to develop the next generation of technicians and technologists. CAAT is one of several ATE Centers that have initiated exploration for collaboration among LIFT and other NNMIs to best engage among complementary federal programs.
Recent CAAT Activities
CAAT Hosts Industry Advisory Council Meeting
  
On February 2, CAAT leadership hosted a meeting with its 8-member Industry Advisory Council (IAC). Discussions focused on planning for the 2016 CAAT Conference. The IAC helped the CAAT identify interesting speakers for the three Tech Talk sessions at the conference. The companies represented by the CAAT IAC members include General Motors, Chrysler Fiat Automobiles, Toyota Motors Engineering and Manufacturing North America, Kaiser Aluminum, Robert Bosch, Continental Automotive Systems and Arada Systems.
  
The role of the CAAT Industry Advisory Council (IAC) is to provide strategic direction and support the CAAT's development of curriculum to meet the education needs of current and future workers in the automotive industry. The IAC input is critical to ensure graduating students have the appropriate skills to work within these new technologies. To this end, discussions were held on lightweighting curriculum development and a new vehicle development associates degree.
CAAT Attends Center for Automotive Research Connected & Automated Vehicle Working Group Meeting
  
On January 27, 2016, Bob Feldmaier, CAAT Director, and Nelson Kelly, CAAT Assistant Director, attended the Michigan Connected and Automated Vehicle (CAV) Working Group meeting hosted by the Center for Automotive Research. CAAT has identified connected and automated vehicles as an emerging automotive technology that future automotive technicians will need to be able to maintain and repair. The meeting was held at the Detroit Regional Chamber office in downtown Detroit. The CAV Working Group meetings feature local speakers from industry, government, and education who are working on advancing intelligent vehicles.
  
Seven speakers updated the working group on progress at their respective institutions. Of particular interest was a presentation by Odis Jones of the Detroit Public Lighting Authority (PLA). As the PLA nears completion of 100% LED lighting for the streets of Detroit, they are also installing the infrastructure for communications with intelligent vehicles, commonly called vehicle to infrastructure (V2I) as well as vehicle to everything (V2X). Other speakers brought the group up to date on the Smart City Challenge, TARDEC's role in developing unmanned fighting vehicles, the Square One initiative on robotics, MDOT's connected and automated vehicle initiative, Ford's progress in connected vehicle services, and Siemens' contributions to traffic control and improvement in Ann Arbor. Read the meeting notes and speaker presentations on the MDOT website under Connected Vehicle Working Group, January 27, 2016, in the bottom right corner.
  
What's New in the CAAT Resource Library?
  
The following resources were recently added to the FREE CAAT Resource Library.
  • Comparing AC Induction with Permanent Magnet Motors in Hybrid Vehicles and the Impact on the Value Proposition
    A whitepaper, presented by Parker Hannifin Corporation, comparing AC Induction and Permanent Magnet motors
     
  • Life Cycle Air Quality Impacts of Conventional and Alternative Light-Duty Transportation in the United States
    This study, authored by Christopher W. Tessuma, Jason D. Hill, and Julian D. Marshalla, evaluates the air quality-related human health impacts of 10 commonly considered strategies for reducing the environmental impact of light-duty transportation options, including the use of liquid biofuels, diesel, and compressed natural gas (CNG) in internal combustion engines; the use of electricity from a range of conventional and renewable sources to power electric vehicles (EVs); and the use of hybrid EV technology.
     
  • Free Online First Responder Safety Training for Electric Drive Vehicles
    An online training course for First Responders and others who want to learn important procedures and acquire critical information on how to safely deal with electric drive vehicles at the scene of an accident.
     
  • Introduction to Radar Systems
    This set of 10 lectures (about 11+ hours in duration) was excerpted from a three-day course developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory to provide an understanding of radar systems concepts and technologies to military officers and DoD civilians involved in radar systems development, acquisition, and related fields. The three-day program consists of a mixture of lectures, demonstrations, laboratory sessions, and tours.
     
  • Vehicle Automation - Stanford Transportation Research Board
    The 2013 Workshop, Future of Road Vehicle Automation, organized by the Transportation Research Board, took place on July 15-19, 2013 at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. The event focused on the challenges and the opportunities related to the increasing automation of motor vehicles and the environments in which they operate. Its goals were to identify research needs and initiate and advance research in a range of disciplines.
Did You Know...
Did you know that former Willow Run General Motors powertrain plant in Ypsilanti Township, MI is being transformed into a development and testing site for autonomous vehicles? The new site will be called the American Center for Mobility. The vehicles can be tested in all weather conditions thanks to Michigan's four seasons. From hot and sunny days to below-zero, wintery days, nature's wrath will help design future cars. Read more here: Willow Run.
Did you know that Ford has started test driving autonomous cars in the snow at MCity, a 32-acre testing facility run by the University of Michigan. Because Michigan is normally a snowy wonderland in the winter, it makes a perfect place to test autonomous cars. Read more here: Ford Testing.
Did you know that automobile producers are not the only ones working on connected and autonomous vehicles? Farm equipment supplier, John Deere, is working on ideas to fully automate tractors and other farm vehicles. One day these devices will be able to "talk" to each other and perform all the tasks needed to manage the fields. From planting the seeds to harvesting the crops, the farmer will be able to program his machinery to perform these tasks. This will increase food production and lower overall costs to the farmer. Read more here: Interview: How John Deere uses connectivity to make farms more efficient.
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Center for Advanced Automotive Technology | Macomb Community College | 14500 E. 12 Mile Road | Warren | MI | 48088-3896