GM and Delphi Donate Technology To Brown Univ.

Warren, Mich. - General Motors and Delphi have teamed to donate a patent covering advanced color image display technology valued at nearly $6 million to Brown University for study and development by the university's researchers.

The GM/Delphi intellectual property, known as "multi-color display technology," provides Brown with patent rights in the U.S. and Japan to a technology that could reduce the size and cost of mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable projectors and other electronics that would benefit from a brighter screen with better resolution. The cooperation of GM and Delphi by each donating their entire interest in the patent provides Brown with rights that extend to the year 2017.

The patent involves a technology that permits sharper electronic screen resolution through the use of only two color "vectors" instead of the normal three. This cuts the complexity of liquid crystal displays (LCDs), flat panel displays (FPDs) and cathode ray tubes (CRTs) used in many portable electronic screens. The technology is best suited for displays where improved resolution, brightness, cost, power consumption and reduced size and weight are important.

"Brown University is in a unique position to bring this new image display technology to many uses and many more people," said Dr. Alan I. Taub, executive director of science at the General Motors Research & Development Center in Warren. "Their research will ultimately increase the wide range of uses of this innovative screen technology in all areas of consumer use."

Dr. Anthony Lee, Delphi's director of licensing, said, "This technology theoretically applies to any electronic display device and is well suited to any number of sophisticated flat-panel display applications now in use and planned."

Dr. William Jackson, Brown University Research Foundation president, said, "This patent presents both a significant opportunity to advance the research efforts of our facility and a chance to advance this particular technology to the point of licensing it to a third party." Professor Gregory Crawford, an internationally known expert on display technology, will lead a team in Brown's Division of Engineering to study the operation of these novel structures and develop ways to produce cost effective displays.

The GM contribution is not the first to the school. A year ago, GM established a $3 million research program in lightweight materials. That program, conducted in a collaborative research lab environment, provides funding to Brown University faculty and students to develop computer models of how materials behave, with a goal of predicting mechanical properties of finished parts in vehicles.

"The collaborative lab program recognizes Brown's excellent research capabilities in the area of materials modeling," said Taub. Added Jackson, "Our engineering faculty is excited with the program, especially with the long term commitment GM is demonstrating in support of Brown's research." More of these types of relationships are anticipated because creating partnerships with universities, suppliers, government and other automakers speeds the delivery of innovative vehicle and system technology to the marketplace.

General Motors , the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide. In 2001, GM earned $1.5 billion on sales of $177.3 billion, excluding special items. It employs about 362,000 people globally.

GM has been the world's automotive sales leader since 1931. In 2001, GM set industry sales records in the United States - its largest market - for total trucks and for sport utility vehicles. GM sold more than 1 million SUVs - a first for any automaker. GM also sold more full-size pickup trucks than any other manufacturer since 1978.

GM also operates one of the world's largest and most successful financial services companies, GMAC, which offers automotive, mortgage and business financing and insurance services to customers worldwide.

For more information about Delphi, please visit Delphi's Virtual Press Room at www.delphi.com/vpr. More information on Brown University can be found at www.brown.edu. More information on General Motors can be found at www.gm.com.