DETROIT, September 29, 2026 – The North American Car, Truck and Utility Vehicle of the Year™ (NACTOY) Awards and SAE International today announced the first recipients of the SAE International-NACTOY Automotive Journalism, Design and Engineering Innovation Scholarships, created to support students pursuing careers shaping the future of the automotive industry.

Shila Alizadehghobadi, a mechanical engineering graduate student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, has been selected as the inaugural recipient of the Automotive Journalism Scholarship. Andrés González, a first-year electrical engineering student at Harvard University, has been selected for the Automotive Engineering & Design Scholarship.

The scholarships were established following a $100,000 gift from NACTOY to the SAE Foundation announced in 2025. The program provides two scholarships annually to support students pursuing automotive journalism and automotive design or engineering.

“When we established these scholarships, we wanted NACTOY’s impact on the automotive industry to extend beyond the awards themselves,” said Jeff Gilbert, president of NACTOY and automotive reporter at WWJ Newsradio 950. “Shila and Andrés are exactly the kind of talented, curious young people we hoped to support. As our first recipients, they represent the beginning of a legacy we hope will benefit the industry for years to come.”

Alizadehghobadi’s engineering research focuses on areas including vehicle safety, autonomous control systems and intelligent transportation. Her interest in automotive journalism grew from seeing important technological advances remain largely within academic and engineering communities and wanting to make that work understandable and relevant to a broader audience.

“Clear, technically grounded journalism can bridge the gap between engineers, policymakers, and the public, ensuring that innovation is both understood and responsibly implemented,” Alizadehghobadi wrote in her scholarship application.

Shila is particularly interested in using data-driven and multimedia journalism to explain increasingly complex automotive technologies, including autonomous driving, electric vehicles and advanced safety systems.

González approaches the future of mobility from an engineering perspective. Growing up in East Los Angeles, Andrés saw how reliable transportation can directly affect access to healthcare, education and economic opportunity. That experience sparked an interest in developing automotive technologies that combine innovation with accessibility.

“Through engineering, I want to be part of developing vehicles and mobility systems that improve safety and independence without leaving underserved populations behind,” González wrote in his scholarship application.

González has already demonstrated an interest in making technology more accessible. While organizing his school’s Astronomy Night, Andrés worked with six university teams to turn technically complex demonstrations into hands-on experiences that younger students and families could understand and engage with. He said the experience reinforced the importance of balancing technical sophistication with usability, a principle he hopes to carry into automotive engineering.

“NACTOY’s gift to the SAE Foundation reflects a real commitment to this industry’s future, and we’re honored to help carry that vision forward,” said Jamie Ferguson, Executive Director of the SAE Foundation. “Shila and Andrés are proof of what that investment looks like in practice—students who are already thinking hard about how technology serves people, not just how it works. We couldn’t do this without NACTOY’s support.”

The scholarship program was developed through a partnership between NACTOY and SAE International, with a committee of NACTOY jurors led by Joann Muller of Axios working alongside the SAE Foundation to bring the program to life. The Detroit Auto Dealers Association also contributed funding to support the program.

“NACTOY had a clear goal: to invest in talented young people who will help shape the future of the automotive industry,” said Joann Muller, Transportation Correspondent at Axios, who led the NACTOY scholarship committee. “SAE has been an invaluable partner and guide, helping us turn that idea into a meaningful, lasting program by bringing its experience and reach to find exceptional students and support them on their way.”

The SAE International-NACTOY Automotive Journalism, Design and Engineering Innovation Scholarships will continue to recognize two students annually, creating new opportunities for emerging journalists, engineers and designers to help shape the future of the automotive industry.

Spanish and French versions of this release are available on NACTOY’s website.