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2011-2012

A Look Inside The Original Ramchargers Drag Racing Team and Chrysler Museum Tour

Speakers: Original Ramcharger Team Members
Program Chair: Tom Huppertz/Bill Owen
APRIL 30, 2012
Walter P. Chrysler Museum
1 Chrysler Dr, Auburn Hills

Meet: Dr. Mircea Gradu, Vice President & Head of Transmission, Powertrain & Driveline Engineering, Chrysler LLC – 2010-2012 Vice President of SAE Int. Automotive Sector

Mr. Frank Klegon, 2012 SAE Int. President & President of FOKUS Associates LLC Presentation by: The Original Ramchargers Drag Racing Team.

Speakers: Dave Rockwell, Tom Coddington, Jim Thornton, Mike Buckel “A look inside the original Ramchargers Drag Racing Team.”

The original Ramchargers were a drag racing team made up of Chrysler engineers and technicians that raced during the 1960’s. The Ramchargers were instrumental in the design and development of the 426 cu.in. (7.0L) Chrysler Race Hemi and Street Hemi engines that are still competitive in drag racing today, 48 years after they were first de- signed. They conducted the first scientific study of the use of Nitro Methane as a fuel for Top Fuel and Funny car Drag Racing.

Among their other accomplishments were the application of the ram tuning principle to intake manifold design, the development and first successful competitive use of the automatic transmission in drag racing, and the design and development of a suspension system specifically designed for drag racing that eliminated wheel hop and made the rear of the car rise (known today as the anti-squat principle).

Seventeen Drag Race cars highlighting this technology will be on display in addition to a tour of the Museum

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2011-2012

Human Interface for a GM Extended Range Electric Vehicle

Eugenie Abboud and Danielle Cory accept plaques from Mark Pope
Cadillac’s dramatic luxury coupe with extended-range electric vehicle technology. (08/17/2011)

Speakers: Danielle Cory/Eugenie Abboud
Program Chair: Mark Pope
MARCH 19, 2012
Room S128, Baker College Technology Center
Bristol Rd, Flint

“A Comprehensive Overview of the Human Interface for GM’s Extended Range Electric Vehicle”

Speakers: Danielle Cory and Eugenie Abboud: Global Design

An Extended Range Electric vehicle like the Chevrolet Volt brings a wealth of new features since it is capable of driving on battery alone, has a range extending engine, and has a high voltage battery pack that can be recharged by plugging into wall power. The customer is able to interact with the vehicle’s plug-in charging system through mobile applications. Along with all these new features is the challenge of designing a driver interface to provide important information to the customer. Danielle Cory and Genie Abboud will present “An Overview of the Human Interface for Extended Range Electric Vehicles.”

The overview will describe the unique human interface features added to this unique vehicle architecture, and will include some additional specifics related to the hardware used for display and software used to provide the information. Danielle and Genie began working on the concept of designing the human interface controls for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt before any actual vehicle or hardware existed. They both continue to work on enhancing the customer experience for the Volt, as well as the other current and future Alternative Propulsion Vehicles for GM.

Danielle holds a BSME from Kettering University and a MSA from Central Michigan University. She has held various posi- tions for GM. She has been working in Hybrid/Alternative Propulsion Controls Integration since 2007 in the role of Technical Specialist of the Human Interface Product Development Team.

Genie holds a BSEE from Wayne State University and is currently working on a Master Degree in Engineering Management. She has been working in the Hybrid Alternative Propulsion Controls Area since 2007 as a Controls Design Engineer for Propulsion Interface before Transitioning to her current role in the Human Interface Product Development Team.

Categories
2011-2012

Student Chapter Presentations on SAE Projects

Speakers Student Project Members
Program Chair: Mark Pope 
FEBRUARY 23, 2012
Bavarian Inn Con

The Student Chapters of Mid-Michigan Section, SAE International, will report on their efforts to compete in the SAE Collegiate Design Competitions.
The Collegiate Design Series events include the Clean Snowmobile Challenge, Formula SAE, Supermileage, and Mini Baja. By competing in these events, students learn more than just engineering.

Meet Dr. Richard Kleine, 2011 President, SAE International

Speakers:
Students from CMU, Kettering, SVSU, and Baker College’s FIRST Robotics team

The students that participate in these events are clearly “the best and the brightest”. We are looking forward to their presentations.

Categories
2011-2012

Bio-Fuels Project

Speaker: Anna Brynas, Swedish Biogas
Program Chair: Mark Pope
NOVEMBER 7, 2011
Campus Center, 4th Floor, Gold Room
Kettering University

A Look at the Swedish Biogas International Plant in Flint, MI

Presented by Anna Brynås

Lab Manager and Lead Process Engineer at Swedish Biogas International LLC of Mich.

Biogas is methane produced from renewable organic raw materials. The gas is part of a natural eco- cycle and, therefore, there are no net emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The production and use of biogas

as an energy source represent an efficient use of resources with minimum environmental impact. In the production plants we design and build, the biogas is produced in a completely natural process. The raw material is digested in oxygen-free tanks, where highly specialized micro-organisms convert the organic material into biogas.

BIO

Anna Brynås is the Lab Manager and Lead Process Engineer at Swedish Biogas International (SBI) LLC, a Michigan based firm specializing in the development, ownership and operation of biogas production facilities. SBI is a State of Michigan Center of Energy Excellence (COEE) dedicated to the advancement of biogas / biomethane technology in North America

Before taking the opportunity to come to the U.S., Anna had been working as a Biogas Process Engineer at the Swedish Biogas parent company in Linköping, Sweden. She has previously worked at Tekniska Verken in Linköping as a part of their advanced biogas research team. Before that she worked as a process engineer at Siemens Industrial Turbo machinery.

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Anna holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering and a Master of Science Degree in Energy & Environmental Engineering, both from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Categories
2011-2012

A Materials Engineer in the White House – An Inside Look

Speaker: Dr. Jack Simon
Program Chair: Susan Manyen/Mark Pope
OCTOBER 6, 2011
Zehnder’s, Frankenmuth
AFS/SAE/ASM Joint Meeting

Presented by Dr. Jack Simon, FASM
ABSTRACT:
Dr. Jack Simon experienced his own version of “Mr. Smith goes to Washington” when he was selected as an SAE White House Fellow and worked in the White House Science Office under Presidents Reagan and Bush 1. During this service, Dr. Simon was in the “hot seat” to block a foreign sale of U.S. aerospace technology as the lead witness before Congressional hearings.
He also represented the U.S. at the first United Nations meeting on Global Climate Change.
Dr. Simon suddenly had to leap from his automotive and foundry roots to create a five year master plan for superconductivity research when President Reagan’s science advisor resigned.
Based on these experiences and a long record of public service, Dr. Simon will offer a frank discussion on the role politics plays in science and technology decisions that affect our country. BIO:
Dr. Jack Simon is an old friend of the Saginaw Valley ASM and AFS Chapters, having been Chief Metallurgist at two of GM’s Saginaw foundries and Manufacturing General Superintendent at GM’s foundry in Tonawanda, NY. In reviewing Jack’s diverse professional accomplishments, the theme of collaboration connects a career that spans industry and government, research in cast iron and alternative energy materials, and stretches from the Saginaw Valley to Europe and Asia. Since 1999, Dr. Simon has run a consulting business, Technology Access Incorporated,
specializing in developing research partnerships between industry and government. He has been honored by many technical societies and has served as Vice Chair of the Detroit SAE Section and President of ASM.
Welcome home, Jack!

Categories
2011-2012

Overview Of Chevy Racing

Corvette Racing, 24 Hours of Le Mans in Le Mans, France, June 11-12, 2011. Compuware Corvette C6.R #73, driven by Olivier Beretta, Tommy Milner and Antonio Garcia won the GTE class, completing 314 laps and finishing two minutes and 29 seconds ahead of the runner-up Ferrari. Today’s victory was the seventh class win at Le Mans for Corvette Racing, and its first in the GTE Pro category. It came as Chevrolet celebrates its 100th anniversary and the 10th anniversary of the team’s first Le Mans victory in 2001. C6.R #74, driven by Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, and Richard Westbrook, led the GTE class for nearly 16 hours but retired following a crash in the 17th hour. (Richard Prince/GM Racing Photo).

Speaker: Jim Campbell
Program Chair: Mark Pope
SEPTEMBER 12, 2011
Room S128, Baker College Technology Center
Bristol Rd, Flint

Overview of GM Racing

Speaker: Mr. Jim Campbell: GM. Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports

There is no secret that throughout the history of General Motors, racing has been a core of their success with the Chevrolet Division in particular. Before Louis Chevrolet himself ever established the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911, he was a race car driver. Fast forward nearly 100 years and Jimmie Johnson just became the first five time-in-a-row NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion while driving a Chevy powered stock car.

We are honored to have Jim Campbell present “An Overview of GM Racing”. The history of GM Racing includes the development of GM Performance Parts as well as GM’s on- again, off-again and on-again relationship in their support of organized racing. Currently, GM’s support is “on-again” like never before under the leadership of Jim Campbell. Expect an exciting and informative meeting, especially for racing enthusiasts.

Jim Campbell was named vice president, GM Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, in August 2010. Campbell is responsible for integrating the engineering and marketing of performance versions of current production models, performance parts as well as all motorsports activities.

Prior to this, Campbell served as vice president Chevrolet marketing. He also led GM’s Fleet and Commercial Operations and held various positions in field sales, retail incentives, marketing and customer relationship management. He has broad experience with performance vehicles like Corvette and Camaro, and worked extensively across a variety of race series, including NASCAR, American Le Mans Series, Grand Am Road Racing and Indy Car. Jim has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame.

Categories
2011-2012

2011-12 Back to the Bricks – MidMichigan SAE Presents the Harlow H Curtice Award

Congratulations to Ruth Drury!
Winner of the 2012 B2B Harlow Curtice Award
with his 1959 Buick Convertible!

AUGUST 18, 2011
Back To The Bricks
Downtown Flint, Michigan

Ruth Drury’s 1959 Buick
Add’l photos on flickr

Press Release

The Mid-Michigan Section of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is proud to announce the Harlow H. Curtice Memorial Trophy to be awarded at the 7th Annual “Back to the Bricks” celebration in Flint, Michigan on August 20, 2011. The award will be presented to either the Buick or Chevrolet that Harlow Curtice would most like to drive.

Harlow H. Curtice, a long time Flint resident and civic supporter, retired as General Motors 11th President on August 31, 1958.

Harlow Curtice began his General Motors Career at the AC Spark Plug Division in early 1915. He was named General Manager of AC in 1929. He became General Manager of Buick in 1934 and was named Executive Vice President of General Motors in September, 1949. It was in this position that he approved the 1953 Buick V-8 engine and the 1953 Corvette for production in Flint.

Curtice was elected President of GM on February 3rd 1953. During his tenure as President, Curtice championed V-8 engines, including the Buick “Nail-head” and the Chevrolet small block, automatic transmissions, power steering and brakes, GM’s Fuel Injection and air- conditioning.

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