2005 BorgWarner Louis Schwitzer Award Presented to Delphi

INDIANAPOLIS, May 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The 39th annual BorgWarner Louis Schwitzer Award has been presented to Erskine Carter, Glen Gray, Andy Inman, Tim Kronenberg, and Bruce Natvig for the Delphi Earpiece Sensor System. The award recipient is selected by engineers and presented to engineers for innovative engineering excellence in the field of racecar design at the Indianapolis 500.

The Delphi Earpiece Sensor System provides a major advancement in safety. An earpiece with imbedded accelerometers is placed in the driver's ear. In the event of a crash it delivers the data necessary to determine the degree of head injury a driver may have experienced. The system provides actual head acceleration values at the moment of crash impact. According to Dr. Henry Bock, Medical Director of the Indy Racing League, these values are used to calculate a Head Injury Criterion (HIC). This HIC number is an important part of the diagnosis, as currently there is no medical test that can detect a concussion other than by a physician's examination.

The Earpiece Sensor System by Delphi has gained acceptance by the drivers due to fit and comfort advancements that have been made. Each driver is individually fitted for the earpiece. The accelerometers are then molded directly into the earpiece form. These molds make it very easy to produce replacement sets as required.

The success is evident as the system's use is now mandatory in the Indy Racing League, Infiniti Pro Series, and ChampCar World Series. It is currently under evaluation by NASCAR and FORMULA 1.

Each May, members of the Society of Automotive Engineers, Indiana Section, interview candidates and select the winner, who receives a $5,000 check from BorgWarner, as well as a plaque. All winners' names are listed on the BorgWarner Louis Schwitzer pedestal in the Speedway Hall of Fame Museum. This year, in order to mark the 100th anniversary of the Society of Automotive Engineers, a $1000 scholarship will also be offered to the university of the recipient's choice.

Auburn Hills, Michigan-based BorgWarner Inc. is a product leader in highly engineered components and systems for vehicle powertrain applications worldwide. The company operates manufacturing and technical facilities in 62 locations in 17 countries. Customers include Ford, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors, VW/Audi, Toyota, Hyundai/Kia, Renault/Nissan, Honda, Caterpillar, Navistar International, Peugeot, and BMW. The Internet address for BorgWarner is: http://www.borgwarner.com/ .