This award recognizes an individual or a team from the automotive industry for outstanding contributions to automotive transmission and driveline technology.
Funded through a gift from the Timken Company in 2007, this award honors Howard Simpson, who invented a revolutionary planetary gear set which constituted the basis for the Ford C4 and C5 transmission produced or the famous Chrysler Torqueflite transmission and several General Motors transmission models.
Members of the Selection Committee are not eligible for this award while serving on the committee. Two years must pass before former members of the Selection Committee are eligible to receive the award.
This includes an honorarium and an award that is presented at an SAE Event.
| YEAR | RECIPIENT | COMPANY |
| 2022 | Xiaosong Hu | Chongqing Automotive Collaborative Innovation Center |
| 2022 | Zhai Jun | Changan New Energy Vehicle Technology Co. |
| 2022 | Yang Yalian | Chongqing Automotive Collaborative Innovation Center |
| 2022 | Bin Lv | Chongqing Tsingshan Industry Co. |
| 2021 | Gregory Goleski | Ford Motor Company |
| 2021 | Steven Frait | Ford Motor Company |
| 2021 | Bradely Riedle | Ford Motor Company |
| 2021 | Michael Berhan | Ford Motor Company |
| 2020 | Maurice Leising | Retired, FCA |
| 2018 | Dr. Hussein Dourra | Magna Corporate R&D |
| 2015 | Robert Fischer | AVL North America Inc |
| 2013 | Dr-Ing Juergen J Greiner | ZF Getriebe GmbH |
| 2012 | Peter Tenberge | Technische Universitat Chemnitz |
| 2011 | Mircea Gradu PhD | FCA US LLC |
| 2010 | Pierre A Lepelletier | |
| 2009 | Karl-Heinz Bauer | Honeywell Automotive Inc |
| 2008 | Berthold Martin | FCA US LLC |