Bosch Endows Engineering Chair at Stanford University

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., May 16, 2007 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bosch has established an endowment chair at University, known as the Robert Bosch Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. To fund the endowment, the Bosch Board of Management has approved $3 million to be paid over the next three to five years.

The Bosch endowment to Stanford will fund new research programs, innovative teaching ventures as well as encourage academic entrepreneurship throughout the mechanical engineering department.

"With a shared commitment to education, innovation entrepreneurship and the development of technologies that make our customers' lives more efficient, safer and comfortable, Bosch is proud to partner with Stanford University and support future mechanical engineering activities," said Peter Marks, chairman, president and CEO of Robert Bosch LLC.

Bosch's commitment to innovation in the field of engineering is evident by its Research and Technology Center (RTC) in Palo Alto, California. The Bosch RTC has worked with Stanford graduate students on a number of different technologies including homogenous charge compression ignition engines (HCCI), an improved way of engine combustion that promises improvements in efficiency together with near zero emissions of certain smog-producing pollutants.

The Bosch Group is a leading global manufacturer of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology. In fiscal 2006, approximately 260,000 associates generated sales of 43.7 billion euros, or $54.9 billion. Set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as "Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering," the Bosch Group today comprises a manufacturing, sales, and after-sales service network of approximately 280 subsidiaries and more than 12,000 service centers in over 140 countries.

In North America, the Bosch Group manufactures and markets automotive original equipment and aftermarket products, industrial automation and mobile products, power tools and accessories, security technology, thermo-technology, packaging equipment and household appliances. Bosch employs 24,750 associates in more than 80 primary and 20 associated facilities throughout the region with reported sales of $8.8 billion in 2006. For more information on the company, visit www.bosch.us.