General Motors Donates Three Saturn Vehicles to UMaine Advanced Manufacturing Center
Contact: Media contact: Nick Houtman, Dept. of Public Affairs, 207-581-3777
ORONO, Maine — Three Saturn vehicles that will arrive on the University of Maine campus on Sept. 20 will never see the open road. The General Motors Corporation is donating them to the College of Engineering for use in the Advanced Manufacturing Center for research and educational purposes.
The vehicles include a complete car, a cut-away car and car to be used for parts. The cut-away car is strategically sectioned to expose the underlying frame and mechanical parts.
“The cars will bring an automotive focus to students,” says Chet Rock, associate dean of the College. “The donation requires us not to drive the cars or sell any of the parts. Otherwise they can be used in any manner for experiments.”
“GM has a fantastic internship program and our students will also have a good chance of participating,” he adds.
Glen Brenna, manager of general assembly at the Saturn manufacturing plant in Wilmington, Delaware, will present the cars in a ceremony on the mall on campus at 1 p.m. Sept. 20 during Family and Friends Weekend. President Peter S. Hoff and Dean of Engineering Larryl Matthews will accept the gift on behalf of the university. Bob Quirk of Quirk Auto Park, General Motors dealer in Bangor, will also be present.
The idea for the donation came from John T. Forester, a graduate student in the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering at UMaine. Forester received his bachelor’s degree from UMaine and interned for two summers at the Wilmington Saturn plant prior to graduation. He suggested the donation to Rock.
Automotive design has been a focus for UMaine students through the annual Tour de Sol, a solar vehicle competition in the Northeast. Paul van Steenberghe in the Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics coordinates the UMaine team that has entered a custom built battery powered car and a solar assisted pickup truck. The team has repeatedly finished in first place in its category.
The Advanced Manufacturing Center designs and builds prototypes of new products and manufacturing equipment for private companies and research laboratories.