Giasson Receives SAE Bill Agnew Award for Outstanding AWIM Volunteers

WARRENDALE, Pa., Nov. 22, 2005 - Melanie Giasson, a safety performance engineer at General Motors Corp., has been selected to receive SAE International’s 2006 SAE Bill Agnew Award for Outstanding AWIM Volunteers. 

The award, established in 2003, recognizes volunteers active in SAE International’s A World In Motion program.  More commonly known as AWIM, the program is designed to increase interest in math and science in the classroom.  The award honors Dr. William G. Agnew, a retiree from General Motors Research Laboratories who has supported AWIM since its inception in 1996.

Giasson is a volunteer at the Our Lady of La Salette School in  Berkley, Mich.  During her three years of service, she has introduced more than 50 students to the world of engineering.   As the program’s organizer, she teaches her own sixth grade class and recruits fellow engineers to lead the fourth and fifth grade classes.  She also uses her experience in safety engineering to demonstrate to her students the importance of wearing seat belts.

In addition to volunteering in the classroom, Giasson stays involved in her community by participating in the Detroit Volunteer Impact’s park clean up and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s Walk for a Cure.  She also served as a team captain and leader for the Boy Scout Explorer Program.  Giasson holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from  Michigan  Tech  University.  She will be receiving her master’s degree in engineering from  Purdue  University in 2006.

                                                                          -SAE-