In a competitive job market, recent graduates need to draw on studious scholarship, relevant internship experience, and hands-on practicum to earn an attractive offer.
Thanks to Belimo, an international HVAC manufacturer, several University of Connecticut School of Engineering graduates will be able to check off those boxes before they even snag a diploma.
University leadership are celebrating a partnership between the UConn Foundation, the UConn School of Engineering and Belimo this week.
Six UConn Engineering students are being supported every year thanks to the generous Belimo Scholarship Program.
Two of these students were recognized in a facility tour event on Friday, April 14 in Danbury.
Rohan Anderson ‘ 25 (ENG) and Lauren Guo ’25 (ENG) were recognized by UConn President Radenka Maric, School of Engineering Dean Kazem Kazerounian, UConn Foundation Assistant Vice President for Corporate and Foundation Relations Sara Mahoney, Belimo President James Furlong and Vice President of Product Management and Marketing Victor Coppola, as well as several other UConn and Belimo representatives.
“We value our partners at Belimo and the lasting impact they will have on these students,” Maric said. “With industry support, our students and alumni can move the needle forward in cleaner manufacturing.”
Belimo is a global market leader in the development, production, and sales of field devices for the energy-efficient control of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. Belimo’s Americas Region Headquarters is at 33 Turner Road in Danbury.
“It’s a true pleasure to invite the next generation of engineers into our facilities today,” said Furlong. “We’re proud to support our flagship university, invest in these students, and build toward the future economy of our state.”
Anderson is a sophomore from Hartford studying Computer Science and Engineering. He hopes to pursue a concentration in software development or cybersecurity. Anderson is a member of the National Society of Black Engineers.
Guo is a sophomore from Monroe studying Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in design and manufacturing, as well as aerospace. She is a member of the controls and ergonomics system of the Formula SAE program at UConn, a collegiate competition in which students design, build and race a formula-style vehicle with a top speed of 80 miles per hour.
Anderson and Guo were the first recipients of the Belimo Scholarship Program and were selected at the end of 2022.
Belimo is supporting one student within a diversity, equity and inclusion criteria and one student within a financially disadvantaged criteria in their sophomore, junior and senior years with a $10,000 scholarship. In short, six students every year benefit from Belimo’s charitable contribution.
In trade, Belimo is tapping into the talented students and alumni from the UConn School of Engineering.
Scholarship recipients will also be offered a summer internship with the company, allowing the students to aid Belimo in its engineering needs. Belimo will continue as industry sponsors and advisers for students in the Senior Design Demonstration projects.
“Even before they graduate, our students have a deep impact on companies looking to innovate in the 21st century,” said Kazerounian. “We sincerely appreciate Belimo’s gift, and we value the role they play in developing our student engineers.”
Sixty-five percent of UConn Engineering graduates are employed in Connecticut.
Belimo is deeply involved in research on reducing carbon footprint of HVAC systems.
“Our products enable HVAC systems to save up to 55 percent of energy usage, comparing to systems without our controls,” said Roger Scherer, Head of Innovation Hub Americas.
At the Danbury site, the company has the largest roof mounted Solar Power Generating Plant in the state.
Radenka, also a UConn Engineering professor, is a world leader in technologies for clean energy and sustainability.
During the facility tour, Belimo showed damper actuators, sensors/meters and control valves.
The university team also viewed Belimo’s only robotic assembly, for a particularly difficult part to assemble, built by a UConn Engineering Senior Design project team.
Stephany Santos, Executive Associate Director of the Vergnano Institute for Inclusion was also involved in the scholarship.
Guo said she is particularly passionate about creating a more gender inclusive and inviting space for women to thrive in the field of engineering.
