Portland State Magazine Winter 2017

WINTER 2017 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 9 Partnering with Daimler Trucks is giving students experience and jobs. HE LONG HAUL I magine a convoy of six tractor-trailer rigs driving down I-5 so close together that the lead truck drastically cuts the wind resistance—and, thus, fuel costs—for those that follow. Now imagine that the trucks are driving themselves. That’s the new reality coming out of Daimler Trucks North America, headquartered on Portland’s Swan Island. It was the first company in North America to produce a self-driving truck, one of which was prominently displayed at PSU’s Simon Benson Awards dinner in November. Many of the bright people creating this new reality are Portland State alumni. The University and Daimler have had a long, mutually beneficial relationship that has helped shape the curriculum of the business and engineering schools and has produced internships and high-paying jobs for grads. Daimler even bought a company started by PSU students: GlobeSherpa, a mobile app that lets users buy TriMet tickets. PSU and Daimler (formerly Freightliner) are now formalizing the relationship by forming a strategic partnership that could expand Daimler’s presence in other parts of the University. PSU has strategic partnerships with nine other business and government entities to fulfill shared economic, social and environmental goals in the Portland metro region. Daimler becomes the tenth. Blake Kashiwagi, the director of mechatronics engineering, is one of the hundreds of PSU alumni working at Daimler. He earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at PSU in 2003. His specialty at Daimler—mechatronics—melds several interconnected engineering fields, including WRITTEN BY JOHN KI RKLAND