Missouri University of Science and Technology will receive $5 million in federal funding to provide educational and training programs for a new electric vehicle initiative in Missouri.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced the funding today (Wednesday, Aug. 5) during a visit to Kansas City, Mo., where Missouri S&T is working with the city of Kansas City, Mo., to provide clean battery-powered transit vehicles to the city. The funding is part of a $2.4 billion initiative to speed the development of electric vehicles and battery technology nationwide.

Locke also announced a $10 million grant for Smith Electric Vehicles to build and deploy up to 100 electric vehicles at an assembly plant planned for the Kansas City Airport. In addition, Locke announced funding for Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler to manufacturing plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in Kansas City and St. Louis, as well as Michigan.

The $5 million for Missouri S&T will fund educational and workforce training programs on advanced vehicles technologies, Locke said.

Missouri S&T will develop a new undergraduate minor in advanced automotive technology to better prepare students for careers in the emerging fields that will develop the advanced vehicles. Housed in Missouri S&T’s electrical and computer engineering department, the minor will involve collaboration between ECE, mechanical and aerospace engineering, and engineering management.

Missouri S&T will also create a new graduate certificate program for practicing engineers and will work with the University of Central Missouri and Linn State Technical College to provide additional work force training. In addition, Missouri S&T will work with St. Louis Science Center on public outreach efforts.

Dr. Mehdi Ferdowsi, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at S&T, is the principal investigator for the project. Angela Rolufs, director of the Missouri Transportation Institute and the Institute for Environmental Excellence at S&T, is the project coordinator.

Missouri S&T has been working with the city of Kansas City, Mo., to design a program for incorporating plug-in hybrid electric vehicles into the city’s fleet. Last December, Missouri S&T received $1.66 million in federal funding for that project.