Automotive Industry Leaders To Judge Altair Enlighten Award

By DE Editors

Altair announced that an eminent group of industry leaders will serve as judges for the 2014 Altair Enlighten Award, the automotive industry's award program created to acknowledge innovations in vehicle lightweighting. In collaboration with the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), Altair created the award to recognize achievements in weight reduction across the automotive industry from motorcycles to passenger cars, light-trucks to commercial vehicles and buses.

The judging panel for the award program will include Jay Baron, President and CEO, Center for Automotive Research, and director of CAR's Coalition for Automotive Lightweighting Materials (CALM); A. Harvey Bell, Clinical Professor of Engineering Practice and Co-Director, Multidisciplinary Design Program at The University of Michigan; Gary Latham, Director of Design Engineering at Pratt & Miller Engineering; Imtiaz Haque, Founding Chair and Executive Director of the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research; Royston Jones, President of Altair ProductDesign Europe; Clemens Schmitz-Justen, Founder and Head of Strategic Consulting, CSJ Schmitz-Justen & Company; and Chris Theodore, President of Theodore & Associates automotive industry consulting.
 
"Entering its second year, the Enlighten Award will continue to focus on technologies currently being used by companies to address the critical goal of vehicle mass weight reduction and its integration into the manufacturing process," said Jay Baron of CAR. "The industry is drawing closer to the 2017-2018 mid-term review and the innovations and technologies that are being brought to light through this competition suggest practical approaches to effective mass reduction needed to meet stringent fuel economy regulations. CAR and our Coalition for Automotive Lightweighting Materials program are pleased to support and participate in this initiative."

Entry submissions will be accepted through May 23 at www.altairenlighten.com/award. Finalists will be selected in June, with the winners announced in August at CAR's 2014 Management Briefing Seminars.

"The 2013 Enlighten Award was a big success, attracting entries from original equipment manufacturers and suppliers from around the world," said David Mason, Vice President, Global Automotive for Altair. "We are very pleased to have such a distinguished and experienced group of automotive engineering and industry specialists on the judging panel. Based on last year's competition, our judges will have a difficult task selecting the winning entry from nominations covering design optimization and the use of new lightweight materials."

For more information, visit Altair and CAR.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company's website.