The way automobiles are powered is changing, and getting tomorrow’s designers, engineers – and buyers – ready for what’s coming is as important as the vehicles themselves.

The revolution already is under way with biofuels as an alternative fuel source for more than 4 million General Motors cars and trucks on the road today. Late this year, the battery-powered Chevrolet Volt with extended-range capability will be on the market. Pollution-free hydrogen-powered fuel cells could follow in a few years.

Helping people understand these multiple advanced propulsion pathways is why GM is participating in this year’s National Science Teachers Association National Conference on Science Education in Philadelphia.

GM Battery Engineer Melanie Fox will present a workshop to the nation’s science educators on Friday (March 19) on how they can help prepare students for the automotive jobs of the future that will embrace energy diversity and environmental stewardship.

“For more than seven years GM, in cooperation with Weekly Reader, has been providing teachers across the country with educational resources to help prepare students for the jobs and technologies of the future,” said Lori Wingerter, manager of the GM Foundation, which coordinates the program.

“One of GM’s underlying goals is to create positive, lasting relationships with the communities in which we operate, and our educational initiatives are a significant part of our plans to meet this goal.”

For many years, GM has provided educational tools to teachers to help them improve the classroom experience. The company, in conjunction with Weekly Reader and through its GM.com/education web site, has developed lesson plans for teachers to use to in the classrooms to educate students on a variety of subjects, including fuel cells and energy, technology, environment and vehicle manufacturing.

“The response to GM’s efforts has been pretty amazing,” said Eden Litt, editor of the GM education web site and materials. “More than 100,000 people visit the GM.com/education web site each year, and more than 900 teachers and administrators across the country receive our bimonthly newsletter.”

GM will expand its outreach to the educational community this fall when it debuts new lesson plans focused on the electrification of the automobile.