TransForum, Vol. 2, No. 4

DOE's GATE Program

A partnership among government, academia, and industry will provide qualified engineers to build tomorrow's alternative-fuel vehicles

If you were to read the course descriptions for today's graduate engineering curricula, you might be surprised: instead of traditional engineering courses and facilities, you might find such courses and facilities as "Hybrid-Electric Vehicles and Controls" and "Automotive Fuel Cell Systems Laboratory." These and other similar resources at some of the top engineering schools in the United States are hallmarks of GATE -- the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Graduate Automotive Technology Education program.

Initiated in 1998, the two-phase GATE program is unique because it blends graduate-level education with technology development and transfer by training students of automotive engineering in critical multidisciplinary technologies, fostering cooperative research in those technologies, and transferring the technologies directly to industry. The program focuses on five key technology areas: hybrid-electric vehicles, fuel cells, direct-njection engines, energy storage, and lightweight materials.

In its first phase (fall of 1998), GATE provided a $100,000 grant to each of 10 leading engineering universities to develop programs of focused technology instruction and research in the five key technology areas. In its second phase, GATE provided each participating school an additional $100,000 for fellowships to graduate students enrolled in GATE programs. The 12-month fellowships were awarded for study and research leading to master and doctoral degrees in engineering sciences, with a concentration in one of the five key technology areas.

Program Goals

DOE and industry partners are GATE's driving forces. Argonne National Laboratory also has a significant technical and administrative role in the program. The Center for Transportation Research at Argonne assists DOE in managing the GATE program -- providing technical monitoring and evaluation, developing communication and promotional materials, overseeing research activities, and testing the technologies that the students develop. Argonne also provided technical support and guidance for the GATE solicitation and selection process.

In a dynamic field like automotive engineering, DOE and industry realized that only a knowledgeable, experienced workforce, equipped with cutting-edge and cross-disciplinary skills, can move the newest, most sophisticated technologies to production -- especially in the near term. Few colleges and universities have the resources to provide students with the comprehensive training they need to be that workforce. That's where GATE comes in.

"Most of our programs are focused exclusively on technology development. However, the twin goals of developing innovative technologies and transferring them to industry led us to realize the growing need for people trained in non-traditional, emerging technologies," said JoAnn Milliken, GATE Program Manager.

Technology Transfer

Technology transfer is built right into the GATE program as a fundamental component of the educational process. "Through the GATE program, DOE hopes to attract bright, talented students who can accelerate the progress and development of vehicles that reduce emissions and significantly improve energy efficiency," said Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson. "The GATE program also will prepare a new generation of engineers and scientists with the technical knowledge and skills necessary to lead our country's automotive industry in the future," Richardson adds.

Working with industrial sponsors, GATE scholars develop research projects in the key DOE technology areas, tailoring their thesis projects to the specific interests and needs of industry and thereby accelerating the development of technologies relevant to Doe's mission. Technology transfer continues upon graduation, when the new engineers -- who are experts in much-needed specialties -- join the automotive industry and begin applying their expertise on the job.

For example, GATE Fellowship students at the University of California, Davis, are interacting with a "real-world" industrial base made up of 16 partners (such as British Petroleum, Exxon, General Motors, and Honda). The Ohio State University (OSU) GATE program is also supported by a number of industrial partners. As one of its focus areas, OSU's recently formed Center for Automotive Research Industrial Consortium is funding a project to develop control strategies for hybrid- electric drivetrains. The Consortium consists of a pre-competitive partnership involving Bosch, Delphi Automotive Systems, Ford, General Motors, Honda, and Visteon.

Participating Universities

The 10 universities selected to develop a GATE Center and their respective technology areas are:

• Fuel Cells: University of California, Davis, and Virginia Tech
• Hybrid Drivetrains and Control Systems: University of Maryland, University of Tennessee, Ohio State University, West Virginia University, and University of California, Davis
• Lightweight Materials: University of Michigan-Dearborn
• Direct-Injection Engines: Michigan Tech
• Energy Storage: Pennsylvania State University

To be selected, each school had to meet some very stringent requirements. Each proposed a curriculum and process for guiding and administering the academic and research aspects of the GATE program. Each school also had to have significant experience with one or more of the key technologies and have access to laboratory facilities and equipment to support their proposed programs.

GATE is still a pilot program. In the future, DOE may expand the topics, the number of universities participating, and the number of fellowships offered under the program.