Raymond's Steve Medwin (left) presents USD1,000 to a Cornell engineering school

The engineering department of a forklift manufacturer is providing students with professional knowledge and support for electrical and hardware components for electric vehicles.

The goal is to encourage studies toward the next generation in power systems engineering and analogue design.

Raymond Corp is sponsoring the Cornell University college of engineering's first resistance racing electric motor team. The project team is exploring the technology of electric vehicles.

Raymond made a USD1,000 donation to the college's school of electrical and computer engineering in Ithaca, New York.

"Raymond has a long history of developing innovations for electric vehicles, and this project is an ideal opportunity for students to gain applied skills for power systems engineering," says Steve Medwin, director of systems and advanced engineering at the Greene-based company. "Through this program, students will be exposed to many disciplines in engineering, ranging from electrical and mechanical to software and program management - all of which are skills they can leverage in their future careers."

The resistance racing electric motor team will design, build and test a complete all-electric motorcycle to race in the eMotoRacing series in conjunction with the American Historic Motorcycle Association.

"Resistance racing gives students the opportunity to apply the skills they've learned to modern issues in engineering such as sustainable design and electric mobility," says Michael Spencer, professor in the school of electrical and computer engineering. "Raymond's sponsorship allows our students to tap into more than 50 years of experience in electric-run vehicles, as well as a plethora of engineers and experts with extensive knowledge in electrical and hardware components."

Materials handling technology provider Raymond Corp is part of Japan-based Toyota Industries Corp.