Automotive Experts to Judge Altair's 2016 Enlighten Award

TROY, Mich., March 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- A renowned group of automotive industry leaders will serve as judges for the 2016 Altair Enlighten Award, the automotive industry's only award program created specifically to acknowledge achievements in vehicle lightweighting. This year's award program adds new categories for innovative examples of lightweighting in both full vehicles and modules such as components, systems and enabling technologies. The winners will be announced during the CAR Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI on August 1^st, 2016. The award is held in collaboration with the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) and media partner, SAE International.

The judging panel are joined this year by James Brancheau, a Member of Altair's Board of Directors and former Chief Technical Officer. The complete list of judges for 2016 award are:

Dr. Jay Baron, President and CEO, Center for Automotive Research and Director of CAR's Coalition for Automotive Lightweighting Materials (CALM)

James Brancheau, Member of the Board of Directors and former Chief Technical Officer at Altair

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

Dr. Imtiaz Haque, Founding Chair and Executive Director of the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research

Dr. Clemens Schmitz-Justen, Founder and Head of Strategic Consulting, CSJ Schmitz-Justen & Company, former director of international programs at the Clemson University College of Business and Behavioral Science, and former president of BMW Manufacturing LLC in Spartanburg, S.C.

Chris Theodore, President of Theodore & Associates automotive industry consulting; former CEO of ASC, Inc., vice president of Ford Motor Co. and senior vice president of DaimlerChrysler; and former executive director of North American advanced vehicle development at General Motors.

Ryan Gehm, Associate Editor, SAE International, writing for Automotive Engineering, Off-Highway Engineering, and Aerospace Engineering with over 15 years' experience of advanced-technology topics with a focus on materials, interiors, body and chassis.

"We have an extremely talented judging panel ranging from Chief Engineers and Vice Chairman to Academia. The extensive backgrounds of these individuals guarantees that they will recognize innovation when it occurs," said Dr. Jay Baron, President and CEO for the Center for Automotive Research. "Lightweighting is one of a few strategic technologies that every auto manufacturer is striving for to improve performance and reduce fuel consumption.  I expect to see the challenges of mixed materials to be demonstrated in this years' entries and look forward to the challenge of judging this years' nominations." "It is an honor to work with such a diverse group of individuals who bring so much automotive expertise to the judging process as well as being my pleasure to welcome Mr. James Brancheau, as our newest member of the judging panel," said Richard Yen, Vice President, Global Automotive for Altair. "It's always exciting to see how the industry is tackling the automotive weight challenge and, if the last three years are any guide, our panel are going to have an extremely tough task to separate this year's nominations."

Entry submissions may be made now through May 20, 2016 at www.altairenlighten.com/award. Finalists will be selected in June, with the winners announced in August at the CAR Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, MI.

Manufacturers and suppliers interested in submitting a nomination are able to access additional information about the nomination process on the Altair Enlighten website. To allow sharing of innovation to further this goal, while respecting the business and technical confidentiality of all applications, designs submitted must be implemented on a production vehicle produced between August 2013 and August 2016, with no geographical restrictions.

About Altair

Altair is focused on the development and broad application of simulation technology to synthesize and optimize designs, processes and decisions for improved business performance. Privately held with more than 2,000 employees, Altair is headquartered in Troy, Michigan, USA and operates more than 45 offices throughout 22 countries. Today, Altair serves more than 5,000 corporate clients across broad industry segments.  To learn more, please visit www.altair.com.

About CAR

The Center for Automotive Research is a non-profit organization based in Ann Arbor, Mich. Its mission is to conduct research on significant issues related to the future direction of the global automotive industry, organize and conduct forums of value to the automotive community, and foster industry relationships. For more information, visit the CAR website: www.cargroup.org.

Media Contacts

Altair Corporate
Biba A. Bedi
+1.757.224.0548 x 406
[email protected]

Altair Europe, the Middle East and Africa
Evelyn Gebhardt
+49 6421 9684351
[email protected]

SOURCE Altair

Related Links

http://www.altair.com