The Timken Co. and SAE International have created an annual award to recognize new concepts, innovations and applications that enhance vehicle fuel-efficiency or transmission durability.
The SAE/Timken Howard Simpson Automotive Transmission and Driveline Innovation Award will first be presented in April 2008 during the SAE World Congress. The award was named in honor of legendary engineer Howard Simpson, a Ford engineer who conceived and designed a revolutionary planetary gear set for automatic transmissions, patented designs that ultimately became the basis for most U.S. transmissions by the mid-1960s.
The Simpson gear train had the distinction of being licensed for manufacture by all of the Big Three automakers, providing the foundation for the Ford C4 and C5 model transmissions from 1964 through the 1980s, the ground-breaking Chrysler Torqueflite and several General Motors models.
"Innovation is a core value at The Timken Company and this award program is a testament to the company's commitment to technical innovation and creativity in a major industry," said Alastair R. Deane, Timken senior vice president - technology.
