Brinkman Foundation awards $1.1M to Fairfield U. engineering, computing school

FAIRFIELD — The Earl W. and Hildagunda A. Brinkman Private Charitable Foundation has donated $1.1 million to Fairfield University’s School of Engineering and Computing that will fund scholarships for women engineers, the school announced Nov. 1.

The donation is in honor of the late Earl Brinkman, father of Fairfield alumna and foundation trustee Ellie Hawthorne. It will enhance the university’s Mechanical Engineering Department by upgrading equipment and will also directly support two key initiatives: the Baja Racing Team and the establishment of scholarships for women in engineering. This gift brings the Brinkman Foundation’s support of Fairfield University to $2.23 million.

The scholarship will offer ongoing financial assistance to help women students and to close the gender gap in engineering. The goal of the scholarship is to inspire more high school women to consider engineering as a career path.

The gift will support women engineering students through memberships to the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). It will also cover travel expenses for students to attend major industry expos such as SME’s Smart Manufacturing and FabTech expos and the SWE Expo.

Over the next decade, the funding allocated to the Baja Racing Team — the School of Engineering and Computing’s largest student club — will support the team’s continued growth and innovation, bringing together students from various engineering disciplines. The investment will enable essential upgrades, including real-time computer monitoring of the race car’s telemetry and diagnostics, as well as advanced driver-to-pit crew communication systems.

In May 13 students from the School of Engineering and Computing competed at the Baja SAE Design Competition and Validation Event in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Overall, the team placed 43 out 107 at this year’s competition. Teams of students designed, built, and raced single-seat, off-road vehicles that can operate in dirt, mud, and on rocky, rough terrain, within a strict set of design rules.

The Brinkman Foundation gift will also be used to establish Fairfield University’s first permanent scholarship for women in engineering. This initiative underscores the School of Engineering and Computing’s commitment to empowering women in STEM fields.