Students, faculty and researchers at Fisher College of Business are benefiting from unique opportunities to engage with a leader in the automotive industry, as the college and Honda of America have teamed up in a number of ways.

Recently, Honda hosted Fisher students at the Honda Heritage Center in Marysville, Ohio, for a lunch and an exclusive tour of the facility. The undergraduate students learned about the history of the company and its vision for the future of its automobiles and the entire industry. The visit also provided the students with an opportunity to engage with Ohio State alumni working at Honda and to gain valuable career advice from former Buckeyes.

The visit was made possible by the work of the Honda-Ohio State Partnership, an agreement that strengthens longstanding collaboration between the two organizations. Honda’s support of Ohio State research includes more than $50 million in endowments for the university — generated through a collaborative involvement at the Transportation Research Center (TRC) in East Liberty, Ohio.

The students’ tour was the latest event to connect Fisher and Honda. Honda is a partner with The Risk Institute at Fisher on an initiative to predict and curb distracted driving. Working with Ohio State Driving Simulation Laboratory, The Risk Institute in June invited representatives from the Ohio Attorney General’s Office to showcase how key partnerships, critical research and leading-edge technology are making roadways safer.

Throughout the tour of the Driving Simulation Laboratory, Jan Weisenberger, senior associate vice president for research at Ohio State and director of simulation lab, highlighted the vehicle research being conducted in partnership with Honda R&D Americas, the Honda-Ohio State Partnership Program and the Ohio Board of Regents. In addition to the ability to simulate and test distracted driving scenarios, the facility assists Honda in evaluating in-vehicle systems for infotainment and vehicle guidance.

“We are incredibly fortunate and grateful to have the partnerships and facilities that allow us to conduct critical tests and simulations into distracted driving accurately and safely,” said Phil Renaud, executive director of The Risk Institute. “Together with our partners, we look forward to leading the way in making Ohio’s roadways safer for everyone.”