NFPA Foundation Grants
The NFPA Education and Technology
Foundation is committed to supporting educational programs and research in fluid power.
We have established a Grant Program, available to NFPA member schools, to achieve the following objectives:
- Actively engage
students at all grade levels in learning about fluid power.
- Encourage the
development of new teaching resources—fluid power laboratories as well as
on-line, print and hands-on instruction tools.
- Support
research in motion control through fluid power at the two-year, four-year
and graduate school levels.
- Foster ongoing
forums between educators and industry so that ideas and priorities of mutual
interest can be shared and set.
The Grant Program consists of
four funding
mechanisms—
Apply for a Grant
Fluid Power Teaching Grants
Grants
will be awarded to recipients as
undesignated funds. Grants will be
awarded to those seeking support of projects that do not involve
considerations of intellectual property. 100% of the award designated as a
gift will go directly to the actual project costs and will not be applied to
any overhead.
Grant amounts will not exceed $5,000 and will be awarded for projects such
as:
- Student
activity-based learning
- Senior
capstone projects
- Student
competitions
- Curricula development by faculty
- Development of teaching tools (e.g., textbooks, software
programs, training stations)
Project Areas:
|
To best achieve our objectives, the Foundation seeks
proposals in the following areas: |
|
1 |
Design fluid power curricula for
mechanical engineering programs at 4-year universities |
|
2 |
Projects targeted to encourage
students to identify and solve real-world problems with a fluid
power application |
|
3 |
Development of curriculum or
certification for fluid power/automation at the 2-year college level |
|
4 |
Development of hands-on
introduction to fluid power training kits for targeted schools |
Fluid Power Research Grants
Grants will be awarded to recipients as
designated funds. Support of
fluid power-related research will be the focus of these grants. Though
overhead may be charged by universities for these grants, considerations of
intellectual property dictate a grants channel.
The grant program has multiple goals. In addition to strengthening ties
between individual researchers and industry, the grant program seeks to
stimulate interest in fluid power on campuses across the country and attract
some of the best and brightest students to the field. It also seeks to
provide world-class university research on pre-competitive problems of wide
interest to the fluid power industry.
Research projects funded through Foundation grants should have potential
application in the marketplace within five years. The duration of each grant
will be two years. The target support level should be $50-75K per year for
each of the two years, resulting in a total target proposal level of
$100-$150K. At least 50% of the total proposal cost should be covered by
grantee institution matching funds. Grant funds can be used to pay for
salary for faculty, stipends for graduate students or post-doctoral fellows,
equipment, supplies and services, and relevant travel required for the
grant-funded project. Note that the grantee may be required to travel to
present their work to the NFPA member companies at annual meetings, campus
visits, or webcasts, and this should be budgeted accordingly. Applicants
should identify the overhead rate charged by the grantee institution, and
how it will be applied to the project.
A signed Grant Agreement is required in order to receive funding. We
understand that each educational institution may require minor changes to
the agreement. However, this agreement must be finalized and signed before
funding can be provided.
Project Areas
To best achieve our objectives, the Foundation seeks
proposals aligned with the R&D challenges
identified in the Technology Roadmap for the Fluid Power Industry. |
|
1 |
Increasing the energy
efficiency of fluid power components and systems. |
|
2 |
Improving the reliability of
fluid power components and systems (e.g., increasing up-time,
eliminating leaks, reducing maintenance requirements, making fluid power
safe and easy
to use). |
|
3 |
Reducing the size of fluid
power components and systems while maintaining or increasing
their power output. |
|
4 |
Development of hands-on
introduction to fluid power training kits for targeted schools |
|
5 |
Reducing the environmental
impact of fluid power components and systems (e.g., lowering
noise, eliminating leaks). |
|
6 |
Improving and applying the
energy storage, recovery and redeployment capabilities of fluid
power components and systems. |
For more information about the Teaching and Research Grant Program, contact
Sue Chase.
Fluid Power Lab Grants
The Fluid Power Laboratory Grant Program helps to establish state-of-the-art training labs at qualifying educational institutions. Hundreds of budding engineers use these labs to study fluid power with the eventual goal of working in the fluid power industry after they graduate.
Grant applications are judged in a number of areas—whether the lab uses both hydraulics and pneumatics, student involvement, what new projects are initiated and the lab’s multiplier effect to create other relevant projects and curricula.
In 2013, the Foundation will award one grant to a qualifying four-year school. In 2014, the Foundation will award one grant to a qualifying two-year school.
Support the Fluid Power Lab Grant Program
Financial support
If you would like to support the lab program, DONATE here and designate “to Fluid Power Laboratories.”
Material donations
NFPA Member Companies
If you would like to donate materials and components, send your product lists to Carrie Tatman Schwartz. The items you donate will be used by NFPA Educator Members on their existing labs, trainers and other educational projects.
NFPA Educator Members
If you would like to submit a “wish-list” of products and materials needed at your school, send it to Carrie Tatman Schwartz. You will be contacted by NFPA Member Companies that can supply the products.
Contact information for NFPA Member Companies and Educator Members will be provided, and they will be asked to contact each other directly.
Fluid Power Challenge Grants
The NFPA Education and Technology Foundation awards grants to schools and
educational institutions to facilitate the teaching of hydraulics and
pneumatics. Are you planning to teach fluid power in your classroom or
through a Fluid Power Challenge event? You may qualify for a Fluid Power
Challenge grant.
Grant awards are intended to help defray the costs directly related to
the educational aspects of the Challenge program, i.e., for the purchase of
program materials such as Classroom Exercise Kits or Challenge Event Kits,
or other expenses directly related to students and teachers participating in
Fluid Power Challenge events or classroom activities that teach fluid power.
Applications may be submitted at any time during the calendar year and
are reviewed on an on-going basis. Applicants are required to submit a
report of how the money will be used, including a description of the type of
materials requested, type of class, activity, or Fluid Power Challenge event
they will be used in, class size and grade level. Follow-up reports,
including photos, videos and testimonials, are required.
Click here to apply for a
Challenge grant.
Congratulations to the schools that have received Challenge grants:
2013
Jerling Junior High, Orland Park, IL
King's Fork High School, Suffolk, VA
Mitchell Middle School, Racine, WI
2012
Brown Intermediate Center, South Bend, IN
Clay Intermediate Center, South Bend, IN
Edison Intermediate Center, South Bend, IN
Eisenhower Junior High School, Hoffman Estates, IL
Greene Intermediate Center, South Bend, IN
Jackson Intermediate Center, South Bend, IN
Jane Addams Junior High School, Schaumburg, IL
Jefferson Traditional Center, South Bend, IN
Jerling Junior High, Orland Park, IL
La Causa Charter School, Milwaukee, WI
LaSalle Academy, South Bend, IN
Lincoln Prairie School, Hoffman Estates, IL
Longfellow Middle School, Wauwatosa, WI
Marshall Intermediate Center, South Bend, IN
Metcalf Junior High School, Burnsville, MN
Navarre Intermediate Center, South Bend, IN
Oak Prairie School, Homer Glen, IL
Whitman Middle School, Wauwatosa, WI
2011
Gardiner Public Schools, Gardiner, MT
High Point Regional High School, Sussex, NJ
King's Fork High School, Suffolk, VA
Maury High School, Norfolk, VA
For more information, please
contact Carrie Tatman Schwartz, Education Program Manager at
ctschwartz@nfpa.com
or (414) 778-3347.