3M
3M is fundamentally a science-based company. It produces thousands of imaginative products, and is a leader in scores of markets – from health care and highway safety to office products and abrasives and adhesives. 3M’s success begins with its ability to apply its technologies – often in combination – to an endless array of real-world customer needs. Of course, all of this is made possible by the people of 3M and their singular commitment to make life easier and better for people around the world. 3M serves customers through six business segments, which increase speed and efficiency by sharing technological, manufacturing, marketing and other resources. These six businesses are:
- Consumer and Office Business – With powerful brands, innovative products and a global presence, including Post-it®, Scotch®, Scotch-Brite®, Filtrete™, O-Cel-O™, Nexcare™, and Command™, 3M makes life easier and more productive for consumers and office workers around the world.
- Display and Graphics Business – Drawing on it’s powerful technology platforms, 3M provides products—display enhancement films, reflective materials, eye-catching graphics, projection systems and more —that people around the world rely on every day.
- Electro and Communications Business – 3M turns its technology into solutions for customers in electrical, electronics and communications markets around the world. We contribute to reliable sources of electrical power, high-performance electronic devices, and speedy and dependable telecommunications networks globally.
- Health Care Business – 3M Health Care is a global leader in medical and oral care products, and drug delivery and health information systems. They supply innovative and reliable products that help health care professionals improve the quality of care.
- Industrial and Transportation Business – 3M is a global leader in tapes, abrasives, adhesives, specialty chemicals, filtration systems and software for supply chain management. They also serve the transportation market with products for the manufacture, repair and maintenance of autos, aircraft, boats and other vehicles.
- Safety, Security and Protection Services Business – 3Ms products—personal protective equipment, safety and security products, track and trace solutions and more — increase the safety, security and productivity of people, facilities and systems around the world. It is also a leading supplier of roofing granules for asphalt shingles.
1) Project Lead the Way – 3M is going national in its attempt to provide students with the best in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education. A total of $220,000 was set aside by the 3M Foundation to implement Project Lead the Way (PLTW) curriculum into its 3M communities nationwide. 3M facilities in Austin, Texas, and Cynthiana, Ky., are also working to introduce PLTW curriculum in their community schools through separate 3M Foundation grants. PLTW is a nonprofit organization that provides a rigorous STEM curriculum for middle school and high school students. The program exposes students to areas of study they typically do not pursue, and lays the foundation for a successful college and professional career in STEM related fields.
2) 2012 3M Ingenuity Grants Awarded – M Foundation will award grants totaling more than $400,000 to 47 U.S. schools as part of its 3M Ingenuity Grant program. Public schools for grades 1-8 in 3M communities are invited to apply for the grants, which recognize teams of teachers who work across grade levels and disciplines to spark student interest and achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).
Since 2003, 3M has awarded 976 Ingenuity Grants, giving more than $2.9 million dollars to schools in 3M communities. The grant program is just one component of 3M’s charitable giving to educational causes. As a company built on a culture of innovation, 3M has a keen awareness of the importance of fostering the next generation of innovators, and works to help create future scientists by supporting students and educators in STEM fields.
3) Science Entrepreneurs – A 3M Foundation grant, and partnership with Minnesota non-profit company BestPrep provided an opportunity for students across the state to interact with a 3M scientist via videoconference who explained to students what it means to be entrepreneurial even in a large company like 3M, and how to take a product to market.
4) National 4-H Council – 3M Foundation grant kicks off a new partnership that helps engage youth in science and technology. Youth ages 10-13 will learn about renewable energy through the Power of Wind, a new 4-H curriculum available to 4-H councils and youth serving organizations like Boys and Girls Clubs, Scouting and programming for children of U.S. military personnel. Students will learn about the science and become aware of wind as a source of renewable energy. The grant helps develop the curriculum written by the University of Illinois. Additionally, the Minnesota 4-H Council received a $150,000 3M Foundation grant to develop kits, training and mobilize partnerships in Minn., Wisc., Iowa, Mo., and Texas.
5) 3M Visiting Wizards – The goal of the 3M Visiting Wizards program is to encourage young people to become interested in science and technology by providing interesting educational demonstrations and hands-on experiments on a variety of science topics. A typical presentation is for 30 students or fewer in a self-contained classroom. The teacher/requester must remain in the classroom with the students during the presentation.
6) 3M TECH – (Technical Teams Encouraging Career Horizons) 3M TECH matches pairs of 3M scientists and engineers for classroom visits to East Metro middle and high schools. The volunteers share stories from their own career paths, and may demonstrate products and technologies they developed at work to encourage students to “keep the door open” for science careers.
7) 3M STEP (Science Training Encouragement Program) – STEP is a partnership between 3M and the Saint Paul School District. STEP provides high school juniors and seniors of diverse backgrounds the opportunity to participate in the process of scientific discovery at one of the world’s leading corporations. Through classroom instruction, paid summer employment in a 3M laboratory, and mentoring by 3M volunteers, STEP students will increase job skills, gain insight into scientific careers, and enhance their personal development.
8) 3M TWIST (Teachers Working in Science and Technology) – The 3M TWIST program allows middle and high school math, science, and technology teachers to spend six weeks during the summer working closely with a 3M host on an actual 3M research project. The objective is to provide active and challenging technical experiences for teachers in an industrial setting. TWIST is based on the idea that the way to learn science is to do science – an axiom that applies as much to teachers as it does to their students.
9) 3M K-8 Science Teachers Workshop – Hands-on demonstrations will be offered by 3M Visiting Wizards, along with community partners. The next free workshop for elementary and middle school teachers will be held Oct. 4, 2013, between 3 and 6:30 p.m. at 3M world headquarters in St Paul, MN. Hands-on demonstrations will be offered by 3M Visiting Wizards and community partners. This is a “hands-on” experience for teachers complete with simple experiments to bring back to the classroom. Certificate of attendance will be provided upon request.
Engineers are at the heart of 3M’s innovation. None of its groundbreaking products would be possible without their tireless planning, development and testing.
3M recruits top engineers to work on cross-functional teams in laboratory, manufacturing and product development. Corporate Engineering is broken into Project Management, Design, Process Instrumentation & Control Systems, and Facilities (see below).
- Project Management – Develop equipment solutions for manufacturing and laboratory tasks Plant resident engineers focus on their specific plant’s equipment, output improvement options, installations and plant facilities Oversee installation
- Education: B.S./M.S. in Mechanical, Electrical or Chemical Engineering
- Design – Deliver process equipment needed for manufacturing Work with laboratory, engineering and manufacturing functions: fluid flow, heat and mass transfer and stress analysis Use CAD/CAE tools to develop new or improved manufacturing processes. Use mechanical engineering principles to develop. Concepts, create detailed designs and oversee equipment fabrication. Use on-line process specialized sensors, data acquisition systems, frequency analysis and statistics to reduce product variability in manufacturing. Provide machine vision solutions for defect detection, process control, process development and measurement and precision assembly. Use process modeling and simulation methodologies to improve operations across all businesses.
Education: B.S./M.S./Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering, Chemical, Electrical, Industrial, Optics or Manufacturing Engineering.
- Process Instrumentation & Control Systems – Process instrumentation and control engineers focus on equipment controls and plant electrical needs. AC/DC motion control, digital and analog systems, interactive operator/machine interface, data acquisition, PID and PLC control and systems integration.
Resident systems engineers perform tasks similar to a systems engineer, with efforts focused on manufacturing operations.
- Education: B.S./M.S. in Electrical, Computer Engineering or Computer Science.
- Facilities – Facilities engineers concentrate on property, manufacturing plants, laboratories, offices, warehouses and customer technical centers.
- Specialize in Architectural, Electrical, Mechanical Engineering (includes Fire Protection) Design, Civil, and Structural Engineering Design.
- Project Estimating and Field Services
- Education: B.S. in Architectural, Civil/Structural, Electrical or Mechanical Engineering.
- Manufacturing Technology Development Engineers – Run experiments at pilot and production plants. Define and establish new product manufacturing operations. Improve cost, efficiency, safety or environmental requirements for manufacturing operations.
- Process Engineers – Assist in design, installation, optimization and validation of processes and equipment required for production. Optimize unit costs
- Assure ergonomic and safety factors exist within process areas requiring interaction with the operation and all operators and maintenance staff.
- Product Engineer – Design, prototype and evaluate products Develop performance attributes of competitive products. Demonstrate viable prototypes and interact with customers. Document control plans and data
- Quality Engineer – Develop testing procedures ensuring customer requirements compliance. Negotiate and manage testing process and conformance specifications for incoming raw materials. Manage statistical analysis that identifies anomalies, reoccurring problems, outliers and other forms to statistical process control of the operations within a plant. Ensure effective management of change process for all modifications.
- Safety Engineers – Provide safety and environmental consulting services to assigned location. Ensure compliance with health & environmental safety regulations. Ensure product responsibility regarding new materials and products
- Facilities / Maintenance Engineers – Provide facility-wide support to functions of equipment. Consult on maintenance operations of specific equipment
- Oversee utilities and recommend improvements to reduce cost. Assure compliance with all safety, health and environmental regulations.
- Information Technology– The 3M Information Technology (IT) organization deploys and supports hardware and software while providing telecommunications, web services and all necessary IT solutions needed to support 3M’s global functions.
- Education: BA/MA degree in Business, Engineering, , Computer Science, Management Information Systems or related disciplines.
- Examples of Opportunities:
- Applications Development
- Business Analysis
- Client Support
- Data Management
- E-Commerce
- Intranet Technical Support
- Infrastructure Architecture
- Design Project Management
- Research and Development – Over 6,500 scientists and engineers in the R&D community proudly represent 100 years of breaking technical boundaries. Our work spans abrasives and optics to nanotechnology and micro-replication. It’s complicated. To simplify, we collaborate across technical, functional and global boundaries. This is how we build robust skills and discover revolutionary solutions.
- Education: Bachelor/Masters/Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry, Biochemistry, Bioengineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Human Factors Engineering, Industrial Design, Inorganic Chemistry, Manufacturing Engineering, Materials Engineering, Materials Science, Mechanical Engineering, Microbiology, Organic Chemistry, Polymer Science and Physics.
- Examples include:
- Biotechnology and Health Sciences
- Flexible Electronics
- Radio Frequency Identification
- Electronic Systems and Optical Devices
- Nanotechnology
- Polymers and Adhesives
- Opportunities in:
- Division Product Development Laboratories
- Corporate Research Laboratories
- Materials Laboratory
- Process Laboratory
- Analytical Laboratory
- Software, Electronics and Mechanical Systems Laboratory
Contact
3M Center
St. Paul MN 55144-1000
United States
