East Tennessee State University receives STEM education grant from DENSO
East Tennessee State University is one of 25 institutions nationwide selected to receive a STEM education grant from DENSO, one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers of technology and components.
DENSO North America Foundation (DNAF) announced nearly $1 million in total funding to help achieve the company’s goal of exposing students to the rewarding careers available in manufacturing and enhancing programs that will produce the next wave of highly-skilled problem solvers. The Department of Engineering, Engineering Technology, and Surveying at ETSU will use its $37,000 STEM education grant from DENSO to update equipment to more closely resemble the electronics industry laboratory and production environments.
“The electrostatic charges our bodies build up while moving around, which produce that annoying ‘zap’ when we touch a metal doorknob, can cause catastrophic failures in today’s high-tech electronics and is a key focus in industry,” said Dr. Keith Johnson, professor and chair of ETSU’s Department of Engineering, Engineering Technology, and Surveying. “A significant part of this grant will be used to set up laboratory equipment to model proper handling procedures for electronic components as students build and operate circuits that reinforce the theory they have learned in the classroom.”
To learn more, read "STEM grant to benefit engineering students."
About the Author
Alexis GajewskiAlexis Gajewski
Senior Content Strategist
Alexis Gajewski is a manufacturing writer and editor with nearly 20 years of experience covering the people, practices, and technologies that keep industrial facilities running. For more than a decade, she served as Senior Content Strategist for Plant Services, creating content for plant managers, engineers, and maintenance professionals on a variety of industrial topics.
During her tenure, Alexis worked to develop the brand’s digital strategy and helped launch and produce Great Question: A Manufacturing Podcast. She also created The Lighter Side of Manufacturing, a weekly blog that explored the inventive and sometimes humorous side of the industry.
Alexis co-founded Influential Women in Manufacturing, a recognition program that honored 49 women in its first two years, earned an industry award for Best Product Launch, and received a proclamation from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and a commendation from U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
She also led newsroom operations and development at a large media company where she set editorial standards, developed training curriculum, and helped support AI adoption for more than 150 editors across 80+ brands spanning manufacturing, industrial processing, automation, and more.
Additionally, Alexis works as a freelance writer and editor, and her areas of interest include continuous improvement, the skilled workforce, and the role of emerging technology on the plant floor.
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