Ford Motor Company Donates $5 Million to Purdue University

    WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Jan. 25 Ford Motor Company
announced that it will donate more than $5 million to Purdue University to
support a new laboratory and expand robotic research.
    The donation will create the Perception Based Engineering (PBE)
Laboratory, where researchers will test people's reactions to such things as
visual stimuli, sound, temperature and touch.  This will aid manufacturer
design of engineering and automotive systems for new products.  The
researchers involved will represent two schools within engineering in addition
to psychological science, audiology and speech sciences.
    "Ford Motor Company is strongly committed to being the global consumer
company of the future.  Education and experience are the two best tools for
preparation," said Wayne Booker, Vice Chairman, Ford Motor Company.  "We
recognize and encourage Purdue's educational leadership that is so vital to
the 21st Century's global business community."
    The Ford donation also supports interdisciplinary research in robotic
assembly systems used in manufacturing and an expansion of laboratory space
for the Robot Vision Lab, an ongoing research facility in which Ford
previously has invested money and technology.
    "On the cusp of the 21st century, applied interdisciplinary research,
especially in these still-emerging fields, is one of the keys to a productive
future," said Purdue President Martin C. Jischke.  "We appreciate Ford's
commitment to our research and to our students.  Ford and Purdue University
make a great team."
    The perception-based engineering lab will be part of the Ray W. Herrick
Laboratories in the School of Mechanical Engineering.  Researchers will be
able to control sound, vibration, lighting, temperature, humidity and air
quality, simulating realistic environments such as the inside of a car or a
workplace.  Sixteen faculty members are expected to use the new lab, which
should be operational in three to four years.  It also will provide research
opportunities and training for graduate students.  Conditions in the lab will
be adjusted to suit many types of research.
    "Researchers are interested in how people perceive and are affected by
engineered products," said Patricia Davies, an associate professor of
mechanical engineering who helped spearhead the effort to raise money for the
new lab.  "We also are interested in how people perform in environments filled
with engineered products, and so we customize the design of the products for
the environments in which they are being used.  Understanding people's
responses will help us create products and environments where people can work
well and enjoy themselves."
    With this pledge, Ford has committed almost $9 million for Purdue between
1999 and 2004.  Last year, Ford gave a $3.8 million donation to Purdue for
minority scholarships, the Krannert New Building Campaign and NVH Center of
Excellence.  Over the past decade, Ford's contributions to Purdue total more
than $14 million.