SDSU student, Adam Carlson of Morgan, Minn., is one of three national recipients of a $7,000 Earl Walker Directors Scholarship given by the Society of

Manufacturing Engineers.

Carlson, a manufacturing engineering technology and industrial management major at SDSU, was awarded the scholarship on June 6 at the SME international awards gala in Bellevue, Wash.

Chosen out of 300 applicants, Carlson said he is grateful for this award because it will enable him to begin graduate school sooner than he planned. Carlson was selected for the scholarship based on his academic performance, personal qualities and future potential as a leader in manufacturing.

A student with a 3.9 grade point average, Carlson plans to pursue a manufacturing career by opening his own business working with boats or motorcycles, two of his personal passions.

“This is the first SDSU student to receive this scholarship,” said Teresa Hall, SME student relations committee member and head of SDSU Department of Engineering Technology and Management. “His academic achievements in two major fields of study — engineering technology and industrial management — as well as involvement with the SME student chapter and his future potential as a leader in manufacturing management added up to an outstanding candidate,” Hall said. “I am so pleased that Adam Carlson was selected for this prestigious recognition.”

The Society of Manufacturing Engineers is a leading resource for manufacturing education and networking through its many programs. SME has members in more than 70 countries representing manufacturing practitioners across all industries.

The SME Directors Scholarship is named to honor an SME leader who exemplifies the ideal commitment to SME, to the manufacturing profession and to education. This Directors Scholarship is named for Earl Walker, CEO of St. Louis-based Carr Lane Manufacturing.

About South Dakota State University

Founded in 1881, South Dakota State University is the state’s Morrill Act land-grant institution as well as its largest, most comprehensive school of higher education. SDSU confers degrees from seven different colleges representing more than 200 majors, minors and specializations. The institution also offers 30 master’s degree programs and 14 Ph.D. programs.

The work of the university is carried out on a residential campus in Brookings, at sites in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City, and through Cooperative Extension offices and Agricultural Experiment Station research sites across the state.

Courtesy www.sdstate.edu/news