Engineers Receive SAE Award for Rollover Crash Test System Research

WARRENDALE, Pa., May 15, 2008 - Robert McCoy, Roel Van De Velde and Clifford Chou are the recipients of SAE International's Colwell Merit Award. The team was honored during the SAE 2008 World Congress in Detroit.

The Colwell Merit Award, established in 1965, annually recognizes the authors of outstanding papers presented at an SAE conference or SAE section meeting. The late Arch T. Colwell, who first funded this award, served SAE International in many capacities for nearly 50 years, including a term as President in 1941.

This award is funded through the SAE Foundation. In addition to supporting the awards, recognition and scholarship programs of SAE International, the SAE Foundation develops and funds programs and incentives that foster student interest in engineering, scientific and technical education.

The following recipients are recognized for co-authoring, "A Dynamic Component Rollover Crash Test System" (SAE paper #2006-01-0721). The paper describes the methods used to design a new type of dynamic component rollover test device.

Robert McCoy
McCoy is a technical expert in the Passive Safety Research and Advanced Engineering department at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Mich. His main research interests are in automotive crash prediction and occupant protection systems.

McCoy has published more than 15 refereed publications and has earned two U.S. patents. He is the recipient of a Ford Engineering Technical Excellence Award.

McCoy earned his bachelor's, master's, and doctorate degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Purdue University. He resides in Ann Arbor, Mich.

For more information on McCoy, please contact sbarbat@ford.com.

Roel Van De Velde
Van De Velde is North American Customer Relations Manager, CAE, for First Technology Safety Systems in Plymouth, Mich. In this position, he is responsible for maintaining and developing customer relationships for the Finite Element dummy model business. Previously, he worked at Tno-Madymo North America, where he held positions as project manager, engineering manager and head of North and South American sales.

Van De Velde holds a master's in mechanical engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology in The Netherlands.

Clifford Chou
Chou is an adjunct professor in the Biomechanical Research Center at Wayne State University in Detroit. In his previous 30-year career with Ford Motor Company, he was a technical leader in the Passive Safety Research and Advanced Development department, specializing in automotive safety.

Chou has more than 100 journal and SAE publications to his credit. He also serves as a U.S. regional editor for the International Journal of Vehicle Safety. Chou has earned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Safety Award for Engineering Excellence, the Henry Ford Technology Award, the SAE Forest R. McFarland Award, and various Ford awards for technical achievements, innovations and customer-driven quality.

A member of SAE International, Chou was elected as an SAE Fellow in 2002. He is also a member of the American Society for Mechanical Engineers and Sigma Xi. He received his bachelor's in civil engineering and master's in engineering mechanics degrees from National Taiwan University. He also holds a doctorate in applied mechanics from Michigan State University. Chou resides in Farmington Hills, Mich.

For more information on Chou, please contact Wayne State University's Julie O'Connor at Julie.oconnor@wayne.edu.

For more information about SAE International's Arch T. Colwell Award, please contact pr@sae.org.