President Inauguration Events 1
Eleven Saturn-brand hybrid vehicles stopped at University Park on Thursday, Jan. 15, in a display of advanced technology and national action. The convoy of the small SUVs, named Vue 2-Mode Hybrids, will be used during events surrounding and including President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration on Tuesday, Jan. 20, in Washington, D.C. This display was set up in the parking lot between Reber Building and the Hintz Alumni Center.
President Inauguration Events 2
Saturn Product Communication Manager Michael Morrissey, in red, addresses Penn State students, faculty and staff inside the Hintz Alumni Center on Thursday, Jan. 15, during his team's visit to campus. Morrissey and nearly a dozen Saturn representatives are traveling from Saturn's headquarters in Detroit to Washington, D.C., to participate in the inauguration activities surrounding President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in next Tuesday. The Saturn crew has been stopping in towns and universities along the way, demonstrating the advanced technology of their 11-vehicle convoy.
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Karen A. Thole, head of the Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, speaks to the assembled Penn State students, faculty and staff inside the Hintz Alumni Center. She, along with State College Mayor William Welch (not pictured), welcomed a group of Saturn hybrid vehicle representatives to campus for what would be a day of hybrid vehicle technology demonstrations. Members of the Penn State Advanced Vehicle Team also were on hand with their ChallengeX competition award-winning vehicle, a hybrid that was designed and built by the team, starting from a conventional GM vehicle.
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Three Saturn Vue 2-Mode Hybrids sit on display outside the Hintz Alumni Center on Thursday, Jan. 15, as part of their tour from Detroit to Washington, D.C. Eleven of the vehicles visited University Park for the day, which included statements by State College Mayor William Welch, Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering department head Karen A. Thole, and Saturn Product Communications Manager Michael Morrissey as well as tours of the vehicles, Saturn materials and the display of Penn State's own ChallengeX hybrid vehicle, custom-built by the University's Advance Vehicle Team.
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Penn State senior Peter Chung signs his name on a congratulations card on Thursday, Jan. 15. The card, bound for President-elect Barack Obama, is part of Saturn's contribution to the inauguration activities to take place next week. Eleven Saturn Vue hybrid vehicles also are part of that contribution, as well as visits to universities such as Penn State which actively participate in government-sponsored transportation technology programs and competitions.
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Penn State's own student-designed competition hybrid, their entry into the General Motors and U.S. Dept. of Energy ChallengeX vehicle competition, was on display side-by-side with Saturn Vue hybrid crossover vehicles in the parking area between Reber Building and the Hintz Alumni Center on Thursday, Jan. 15.
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Penn State Engineering department administrative assistant Linda Matason, left, takes a Saturn tire pressure gauge from a display set up outside Reber Building and the Hintz Alumni Center. Saturn, a subsidiary of General Motors, displayed a number of Vue 2-Mode Hybrid vehicles, as well as energy-saving tips and handouts, like the pressure gauges, on Thursday, Jan. 15. The convoy of 11 vehicles chose to visit Penn State due to the University's participation in the ChallengeX vehicle engineering program, in which Penn State's Advanced Vehicle Team has taken an active and award-winning role.
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The Hintz Alumni Center parking circle had two special occupants on Thursday, Jan. 15, as two Saturn Vue 2-Mode Hybrid vehicles were on display for most of the day. Part of an 11-vehicle convoy, the small crossover SUVs are bound for Washington, D.C., to be put to service supporting presidential inauguration activities that will take place next week.
