Ford Motor Co. announces scholarship winner

LAWRENCE — Ford Motor Company has announced that industrial design student Alexander Guinn, Overland Park, is one of five U.S. recipients of its inaugural Alan Mulally Leadership in Engineering Scholarship Awards.

Guinn’s interest in industrial design and engineering began early when he attended the Center for Advanced Professional Studies in Overland Park as a high school student. There he studied business, computer-aided manufacturing, digital electronics and robotics.

After high school he began studying industrial design at KU while working as a designer at Second Life Studios, Honeywell, and began his own startup.

Guinn has a particular affinity for automobiles. “When I began appreciating the design of products around me, nothing stood out like the car,” he said.

“I love the automotive design process because it allows me to interact with so many areas of innovation and technology: digital displays, mechanical functions, interior comfort, exterior styling, user controls and aerodynamics.

“The automotive industry interacts with so many factors and seeks to seamlessly unite them under one roof,” he said. “I want to be a part of that amazing process.”

Mulally was the president and CEO of Ford from 2006 to 2014. The scholarship that bears his name awards $10,000 to a single industrial design or engineering student from each of five preselected universities from throughout the U.S.

“We are extremely proud of Alex and that Ford chose KU as one of the schools that would have the privilege of nominating a Mulally Scholarship recipient,” said Professor of Design Greg Thomas, who is one of Guinn’s industrial design teachers and director of the Center for Design Research.

“Over the years, Ford has been a tremendous and gracious partner with the CDR through sponsored research projects, student mentoring, equipment donations, and now through this scholarship,” he said.

The CDR was chosen as a scholarship recipient based on the recommendations of Ford executives who have worked with the CDR and are aware of its unique focus on automotive research and applications.