Alstom Power has become the latest industry leader to make its tax-deductible contribution to the Next Generation Scholarship Fund, now in its second year.

Begun by Power Engineering magazine and JETS (the Junior Engineering Technical Society), the Fund is supported by contributions from companies and organizations involved in electric power generation. The Fund provides academic scholarships for high school students who are entering college to study courses that will lead to a career as engineers in the electric power industry.

In addition to Alstom Power, contributors include Exelon Generation, the Edison Electric Institute, CH2M Hill, General Physics, the American Boiler Manufacturers Association, Bechtel Power, Pratt & Whitney Power Systems, Earl Beckwith & Associates and EXCEL Services Corp.

The Fund was established to help address the pressing workforce issue in the electric power generation industry. High school students provide transcripts and answer an essay question as part of the competition for the annual grants, which amount to $5,000 over the course of a four-year college education. Students reapply annually to ensure that the scholarship awards benefit students intent on pursuing power generation-related engineering courses.

A steering committee made up of industry volunteers reviews the applications and essays in April. Awards are announced in May and scholarship funds are released to educational institutions in the fall. Steering committee members include Earnest O. Robbins II Maj Gen USAF (Ret), Parsons; Bob Palmer, Bechtel; Jamie Matlin, PennEnergy JOBS; Joe Nasal, General Physics; Larry Jaworski, Black & Veatch; Nancy Mohn, Alstom Power; and Betty Shanahan, Society of Women Engineers. Megan Balkovic of JETS and David Wagman, Managing Editor of Power Engineering magazine are the Fund's co-chairpersons. All contributions are managed by JETS, which is a 501 (c) 3 charitable organization. Details on JETS are available at www.jets.org.