Delphi's Top Inventors Honored by 'Boss' Kettering Award
TROY, Mich., June 16 -- Delphi Corp. today named 24 of its top inventors as winners of the "Boss" Kettering Award in recognition of their outstanding engineering achievements for MagneRide(TM), QUADRASTEER(TM) and Thick Film Sense Resistor Composition.
"As Delphi continues to build a strong heritage of technological innovation, the 'Boss' Kettering Awards recognize what we have accomplished in the past and signify what we are capable of in the future," said Donald Runkle, Delphi vice chairman, Enterprise Technologies, and chief technology officer. "These individuals have demonstrated the innovation, creativity and hard work it takes to create the industry-leading technologies that Delphi prides itself upon."
The "Boss" Kettering awards program was established in 1976 to recognize individuals who have developed outstanding inventions that have identifiable and substantial benefit to Delphi. It was named after Charles "Boss" Kettering, the first vice president of the GM Research Laboratories, who registered more than 140 patents in his name.
Each inventor not only receives the "Boss" Kettering Award but induction into Delphi's Innovation Hall of Fame -- Delphi's highest engineering honor. With the addition of this year's winners, there are a total of 129 Delphi "Boss" Kettering winners with 22 inventions since Delphi became an independent company in 1999.
This year's award winners and their innovations are:
* MagneRide(TM) Damper System - Inventors: Alex Alexandridis, Robert Foister, Patrick Hopkins, Vardarajan Iyengar, William Kruckemeyer, Ilya Lisenker, David Shal.
MagneRide(TM) is the industry's fastest reacting suspension technology on the market today. It responds to road surface changes every millisecond using advanced electronics, magneto-rheological fluid and unique interpretive algorithms with no electro-mechanical valves or small moving parts. The system provides a fast, smooth, continuously variable damping action in a simple, cost effective and reliable package.
The result is a suspension control system that increases wheel to road contact on all types of surfaces and helps produce a well-controlled, yet comfortable ride.
MagneRide first debuted on the 2002 Cadillac Seville STS, and is now available on the 2004 Cadillac XLR roadster and the 2004 Cadillac SRX luxury sport utility. Additionally, MagneRide is standard equipment on the 50th anniversary edition of the Chevrolet Corvette for the 2003 model year, and is also available as an option on most Corvette models. General Motors markets MagneRide as Magnetic Selective Ride Control on the Corvette and Magnetic Ride Control on the Cadillac Seville, XLR and SRX.
MagneRide(TM) was a 2003 PACE Award winner and received Popular Science's "Best of What's New Award" in 1999 and 2002. MagneRide(TM) also received a Special Grand Jury Prize in 1999 from Paris Equipment Automotive and "Best Use of Materials - 2000" from International Automotive World.
* QUADRASTEER(TM) - Inventors: Karen Boswell, Steven Collier-Hallman, Jeffrey Klass, Steven Klein, Stanley Kielar, Lynn Krom, Brian Lemanski, Brian McNalley, Gordon Richardson, Reeny Sebastian, Tracy Seyuin, Scott Wendling, Kenneth Westercamp, Hsien Chen.
QUADRASTEER(TM) is a rear steer-by-wire system coupled with a traditional hydraulic front steering system that helps increase driver maneuverability, stability and towing capabilities. Engineers incorporated a return spring into their design to provide an automatic, controlled return to regular two- wheel steering. A swing-out compensator was also developed to limit how far the rear wheels turn when the vehicle is stopped in order to avoid having the vehicle swing out and hit a nearby object. As the vehicle starts to move, the rear wheels gradually increase their rear steer angle accordingly.
QUADRASTEER(TM) is the first large-angle rear steer-by-wire system and the first full-size truck and SUV application currently in production. QUADRASTEER(TM) is available on seven different GMC & Chevrolet vehicles.
Among other awards, the GMC Sierra with QUADRASTEER(TM) won the "2003 Pickup Truck Four Wheeler of the Year," from Four Wheeler magazine. QUADRASTEER(TM) also received an annual ranking in Popular Science's "2002 The Best of What's New" and was a 2002 PACE Award winner.
* Thick Film Sense Resistor Composition - Inventors: Carl Berlin, Dwadasi H.R. Sarma.
Thick Film Sense Resistor Composition is a blend of metals and specifically tailored glass, formulated to achieve low resistance with concurrent near-zero temperature dependence. Tailored to Delphi's product designs, this technology has helped Delphi gain a worldwide competitive edge in the areas of cost, reliability and performance.
Thick Film Sense Resistor Composition demonstrates innovation in a mature science as well as an industry first.
Since 1993, Delphi has taken advantage of this cost-effective technical innovation in such products as Engine Controllers and Anti-lock Brake Controllers and is heavily factored into several future products, including Transmission Controllers. Customers utilizing products employing this invention include GM, Opel and Isuzu.
Among other honors, Thick Film Sense Resistor Composition received a citation from Hughes as an Innovation Achievement and has been referenced in prestigious technical publications.
* Kenneth Turner, a Delphi Energy & Chassis Systems inventor, will also be honored for receiving a GM Boss Kettering award for Heat Resistant Fuel Injector.
With approximately 16,000 engineers, scientists and technicians dedicated to research and development initiatives and technological excellence, Delphi was also recently ranked number one in MIT's Technology Review magazine on the Patent Scorecard for its technological strength in the automotive industry. Technology Review's 2003 Patent Scorecard tracked the U.S. patent portfolios of more than 750 of the world's top technology companies, of which 97 were in the automotive industry.
For more information about Delphi and its operating subsidiaries, visit Delphi's media room at www.delphi.com/media .
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020315/DEF002LOGOPRN Photo Desk, +1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840
Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/gh/cnoc/comp/076666.html