Breaking Down Technology Barriers for Advanced Vehicles: The Graduate Automotive Technology Education (GATE) Program

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Advanced Automotive Technologies (OAAT), in partnership with industry, is developing transportation technologies that will improve the energy efficiency of our transportation system. Most OAAT programs are focused exclusively on technology development. However, the twin goals of developing innovative technologies and transferring them to industry led OAAT to realize the growing need for people trained in non-traditional, emerging technologies. The Graduate Automotive Technology Education (GATE) program combines graduate-level education with technology development and transfer by training a new generation of automotive engineers in critical multi-disciplinary technologies, by fostering cooperative research in those technologies, and by transferring those technologies directly to industrial organizations. Five key technology areas were identified for the GATE program: hybrid electric vehicles, fuel cells, direct injection engines, energy storage, and lightweight materials. Ten Centers of Automotive Technology were established at graduate engineering schools through a competitive selection process. This paper describes the structure and content of the GATE program.