​Nearly 200 high-achieving seniors from Ohio high schools have received the 2009 Honda-Ohio State Partnership Math Medal Award from a partnership between Honda of America Mfg., Inc. and Ohio State University. The award recognizes and honors the top mathematics student in each high school for their achievements in math courses throughout high school. A complete list of Class of 2010 Math Medal winners and their high schools accompanies this release. Highlighting the importance of encouraging top math students to pursue a career in engineering, the award is presented through the Honda-Ohio State Partnership Program, which supports initiatives in education, research and public service. This year, the partnership expanded the program into the Southwest Ohio Region with a Math Medal Award event hosted Saturday at the GE Aviation Learning Center in Cincinnati to honor 66 top math students from 13 southwest Ohio counties. Bill Dwyer, president of GE Honda Aero Engines, shared his views about how math and the sciences are strategic to solving the biggest challenges facing the world today, ranging from energy efficiency and sustainability to local and national business competitiveness through innovation. Dwyer also noted 14 of the top 15 highest paying entry-level jobs for 2009 college graduates were related to math or engineering. On Thursday in Marysville, more than 400 friends and family attended a breakfast as the Class of 2010 Math Medal winners from the Central Region received their awards at Honda of America Mfg. Inc. The 2009 Math Medal Awards mark the sixth anniversary of the ceremony, and 130 seniors, the highest number yet from the Central region, received the award this year. Mathematics drives advances in science and technology that are vital to future growth and solving society’s biggest problems, said Jim Wehrman, member of the committee that heads Honda manufacturing in North America. “At no time in history has science and technology played such a key role as it does today,” Wehrman said at the Marysville event. “Mathematics is the gateway to these new frontiers and that’s why the skills you have demonstrated are so important.” There are currently four full classes of Math Medal Scholars enrolled at Ohio State in engineering. These math scholars have the opportunity to apply for a Honda-Ohio State Partnership scholarship at Ohio State’s College of Engineering. Totaling $2,500 each, up to 18 scholarships will be awarded to this year’s Math Medal recipients for the 2010-11 academic year and can be renewed for a total of four years. Over the first five years, 55 Math Medal recipients have gone on to receive the $2,500 scholarships at Ohio State’s College of Engineering. With the addition of the Southwest Region, the number of scholarships offered through the program increased from 12 in past years. “At a time when U.S. students are pursuing math- and science-related careers in decreasing numbers, we are very pleased to be able to recognize these outstanding students for their academic achievements,” Gregory N. Washington, interim dean, Ohio State College of Engineering, said at both events. “This award encourages exceptional math students to consider engineering as a career while exposing them to Ohio State University and Honda.” In addition to the award — a boxed pewter medal and certificate — the Math Medal winners received a $100 gift card. All high schools in the Central Region near Honda operations, and in the new Southwest Region, are asked to select their best senior math scholar for the Math Medal, based on academic performance at the end of the student’s junior year in 2009. In the first five years of the program, 55 students have used the partnership scholarship to attend Ohio State’s College of Engineering, and four have graduated. The math skills of these top high school students are essential for developing future technologies in Ohio that drive product innovations and business efficiencies, said Bill Konstantacos, Honda of America senior manager, during Saturday’s event at GE. “Today’s economic reality has made it crystal clear that future economic stability depends on how quickly we can develop and apply new technologies,” he said. “Your proficiency in math will be vital as your generation carves its own niche in the future.” The Honda-Ohio State Partnership Program is an unparalleled, bilateral collaboration between Ohio State and Honda of America that supports initiatives in education, research and public service to positively impact students, faculty, public and private sector practitioners, and the transportation industry as a whole. Honda operates two auto plants and engine and transmission plants in Ohio, and Ohio is the center of Honda’s North American operations in a number of areas, including a major vehicle research and development center; a regional parts distribution center; and engineering, logistics and purchasing operations. With 14,000 associates — including more than 1,000 engineers — Honda is one of Ohio’s largest private employers. Based in Cincinnati, GE Aviation is the world’s largest designer, manufacturer and service provider of commercial and military aircraft engines. Based on an Ohio State Career Services report from July, GE is the largest employer of Ohio State engineers for both full-time and coop/intern positions over the past three years. GE currently employs nearly 13,000 Ohioans, including more than 5,000 engineers. Ohio State’s College of Engineering is ranked among the top 20 public university engineering programs in the country by U.S. News and World Report, and our 5,600 undergraduate students choose from 14 different engineering majors. Download a complete list of the award winners here. More information about the Honda-Ohio State Partnership Program is available at http://elearn.eng.ohio-state.edu/honda.