Nissan Donates $250,000 to SAE International's A World In Motion Program

WARRENDALE, Pa., May 8, 2012 - During the SAE World Congress Annual Banquet held last month in Detroit, Nissan Chief Technology Officer Toshiyuki Shiga announced that Nissan will donate $250,000 to SAE International’s  A World In Motion® (AWIM) program, with payments spread over two years. Shiga-san served as keynote speaker for the banquet.

Through the support of corporations, foundations, volunteers, SAE members and the SAE Foundation, AWIM is an award-winning, teacher-administered, industry volunteer-assisted program that brings science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education to life in the classroom for students in Kindergarten through Grade 12. Benchmarked to the national standards, AWIM incorporates the laws of physics, motion, flight and electronics into age-appropriate hands on activities that reinforce classroom STEM curriculum.

“Nissan is proud to partner with the SAE Foundation to sustain the roll-out of the A World In Motion® curriculum,” said Carla Bailo, senior vice president, Research & Development, Nissan Americas.  “We live in a technology-based world, so giving children the tools they need to help them understand science and math concepts is vitally important. These innovative materials may help to launch a new generation of engineers, scientists and problem solvers.”

Since 1990, more than four million students have participated in the AWIM program in all 50 U.S. states and 10 of 13 Canadian provinces and territories; more than 65,000 activity kits have been provided to teachers and volunteers; and more than 20,000 engineers, scientists and technology professionals have volunteered in partnership with the AWIM program.

“Corporate donors are the life-blood of AWIM and all of the educational programs that we provide. On behalf of the SAE Foundation and SAE International, I want to thank Nissan for their generous donation and their support of our mission. Nissan has shown a commitment to education that will benefit school-age children across the U.S and Canada,” Matthew Miller, Senior Manager, SAE Foundation and Pre-College Programs, SAE International, said.

About Nissan North America
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. Nissan is dedicated to improving the environment under the Nissan Green Program and has been recognized as an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year in 2010, 2011 and 2012 by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.NissanUSA.com and www.InfinitiUSA.com.

About the SAE Foundation
The SAE Foundation is the charitable arm of SAE International that strives to encourage and increase student participation and achievement in science, technology, engineering and math through educational programs, including A World In Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series™. SAE International is a global association of more than 133,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International's core competencies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development.

- www.saefoundation.org-