Kieran Holland Among First Emerson Innovation Scholarship Recipients

2016 Dec 2

Kieran Holland is one of five University of Dayton students who received the first Emerson Innovation Scholarships sponsored by The Helix Innovation Center on the University of Dayton campus. They will work with Emerson engineers and industry leaders to develop innovations in the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration industry.

Each student will receive $10,000 to support their work and be assigned a mentor at The Helix.

"The collaboration with the University of Dayton is an important part of our mission at The Helix. We want these students to become part of our collaboration community. So it was very important that we include students from majors outside our traditional engineering path," said Rajan Rajendran, vice president of system innovation and sustainability for Emerson's commercial and residential solutions platform.

The 40,000 square-foot Helix contains six simulated environments that will provide University of Dayton students a real-world research playground - a fully-functioning and furnished home, a model supermarket, a light commercial environment, a commercial kitchen, a data center and an industrial chiller.

The Helix scholarship program is an extension of the hands-on work University of Dayton students and Emerson have done together since the early 1980s.

"Emerson's influence is woven throughout the fabric of the School of Engineering," said School of Engineering Dean Eddy Rojas. "We deeply value our relationship with Emerson, as it has provided students with scholarships, hands-on projects in our Design and Manufacturing Clinic and Innovation Center, and co-ops and internships.

"Our relationship with Emerson provides tremendous value to a University of Dayton education and improves student outcomes. Opportunities our students will have in The Helix will only add to that."

In all, Emerson funds eight scholarships for University of Dayton students.

In addition to scholarships, an Emerson grant in the mid-1990's helped establish the School of Engineering's Design and Manufacturing Clinic, which evolved into the School of Engineering's Innovation Center. That partnership is providing uncommon opportunities for experiential learning. Nearly 3,000 students have conducted more than 1,200 projects for more than 200 companies in the Design and Manufacturing Clinic or the School of Engineering's Innovation Center, meeting or exceeding expectations 85 percent of the time. Emerson has sponsored 91 of those projects. Within the School of Engineering's Innovation Center is the Emerson Product Innovation Laboratory established with a $1 million commitment.

"Emerson has been very generous with the support it provides our students," said Becky Blust, University of Dayton School of Engineering Innovation Center director. "Emerson helps us show our students that entrepreneurship and innovation are not just limited to academic exercises in classrooms."

The support has extended to significant job opportunities for students while they're in school and as they start careers. Nearly 200 students have worked as co-ops or interns at Emerson. Many of them - more than 100 alumni holding more than 150 degrees - have gone on to jobs in Emerson companies.