The Louis Schwitzer Award for engineering

Engineering

Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...

 innovation and excellence at the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

 recognizes individuals with the courage and conviction to explore and develop new concepts in motorsports technology.

This prestigious award has been presented annually since 1967 by The Indiana

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

 Section of SAE International in honor of early racing pioneer and past Indiana Section Chairman Louis Schwitzer. The award winner is selected by a committee consisting of Indiana Section of SAE International members, and Indy Racing League technical officials. Award sponsor BorgWarner Inc.

BorgWarner

BorgWarner Inc. is a United States-based worldwide automotive industry components and parts supplier. It is primarily known for its powertrain products, which include manual and automatic transmissions and transmission components, , turbochargers, engine valve timing system...

 provides a $10,000 cash prize to the winner. SAE International also provides a $1,000 scholarship to the engineering school of the winner's choice, and doubles the scholarship amount if the winner was a past Formula SAE

Formula SAE

Formula SAE is a student design competition organized by the Society of Automotive Engineers . The competition was started back in 1978 and was originally called SAE Mini Indy.-Concept:...

 participant. In addition, the winner's name is added to a permanent trophy

Trophy

A trophy is a reward for a specific achievement, and serves as recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are most often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics...

 on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, located in Speedway, Indiana in the United States, is the home of the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race and the Brickyard 400....

 Hall of Fame Museum.

Recent Louis Schwitzer Award winners include the developers of the HANS Device

HANS device

The HANS device is a safety item compulsory in many car racing sports...

, the SAFER barrier

SAFER barrier

The Steel and Foam Energy Reduction barrier, sometimes called a soft wall, is a technology found primarily on oval automobile race tracks and intended to make racing accidents safer...

, the Earpiece Sensor System and the Accident Data Recorder 3. All have contributed significantly to improved driver safety at the Indianapolis 500 and in many other worldwide motorsports venues.

Louis Schwitzer Award winners

Year	Winner	Concept
1967	Andy Granatelli Andy Granatelli Anthony "Andy" Granatelli was the CEO of STP.Along with brothers Vince and Joe, Andy first worked as an auto mechanic and 'speed-shop' entrepreneur, modifying engines such as the 'flathead' Ford into racing-quality equipment...	STP-Paxton Turbocar STP-Paxton Turbocar The STP-Paxton Turbocar was a racing car, designed by Ken Wallis as the STP entry in the Indianapolis 500.- History :Wallis, a distant relative of famed British engineer Barnes Wallis, had developed a workable plan for harnessing a gas turbine to a race car. He first presented the idea to Dan...
1968	Dan Gurney Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager...	Low Cost Racing Engine
1969	Colin Chapman Colin Chapman Anthony Colin Bruce Chapman CBE was an influential British designer, inventor, and builder in the automotive industry, and founder of Lotus Cars....	Lotus Lotus Cars Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...  Type 64
1970	Bruce McLaren Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren , born in Auckland, New Zealand, was a race-car designer, driver, engineer and inventor....	McLaren M15
1971	Josef Karasek	McNamara McNamara (constructor) McNamara was a German constructor of racecar chassis from the late 1960s to the 1972.-History:McNamara was formed by Francis McNamara, a United States soldier who raced Formula Vee cars while stationed in Germany. Dan Hawkes designed a 1969 chassis for Formula 3 called the F3 McNamara Sebring Mk3...  chassis
1972	Dan Gurney Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney is an American racing driver, race car constructor, and team owner.The son of a Metropolitan Opera star, he was born in Port Jefferson, New York, but moved to California as a teenager...	Eagle chassis
1973	Smokey Yunick Smokey Yunick Henry "Smokey" Yunick was an American mechanic and car designer associated with motorsports. Yunick was deeply involved in the early years of NASCAR, and he is probably most associated with that racing genre...	Stock Block Engine
1974	A.J. Foyt	Coyote Coyote (chassis) The Coyote was a brand of racing chassis designed and built for the use of A.J. Foyt's race team in USAC Championship Car racing including the Indianapolis 500. It was used from 1966 to 1983 with Foyt himself making 141 starts in the car winning 25 times. George Snider had the second most starts...  chassis
1975	Parnelli Jones Parnelli Jones Rufus Parnell "Parnelli" Jones , is a retired American racing driver and racecar owner. He is most remembered for his 1963 Indianapolis 500 win, and almost winning the 1967 Indy 500 in a turbine car...	Parnelli VP6J chassis
1976	Roman Slobodynskyj	Lightning chassis
1977	Bruce Crower and Bob Bubenik	Automatic clutch Clutch A clutch is a mechanical device which provides for the transmission of power from one component to another...  and Flat 8 engine Flat-8 A flat-8 or horizontally opposed-8 is an internal combustion engine in flat configuration, having 8 cylinders.The most famous engine of this type is the Porsche air-cooled flat-8 engine introduced in a 1.5 L version for Formula One that grew up to a 3 L version used in the Porsche 908.Another...
1978	Roman Slobodynskyj	Laydown Lightning chassis
1979	Jim Hall and John Barnard John Barnard John Barnard is a race car designer and is currently working alongside Terence Woodgate designing high specification carbon fibre furniture....	Chaparral 2K chassis
1980	Geoff Ferris Geoff Ferris Geoff Ferris is a Northern Ireland football manager. He is the current Assistant Manager of Coleraine FC.Through Ferris's successful career in Irish League football, he had spells with Carrick Rangers, Coleraine but he is known best for his contribution to Glenavon FC, at his spell there he scored...	Penske Penske Racing Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske...  PC-9 chassis
1981	John Ward John Ward John Ward may refer to:*John Ward , English composer*John Ward , English Gresham Professor of Rhetoric*John Ward , Lord Mayor of London...	Eagle chassis
1982	Geoff Ferris Geoff Ferris Geoff Ferris is a Northern Ireland football manager. He is the current Assistant Manager of Coleraine FC.Through Ferris's successful career in Irish League football, he had spells with Carrick Rangers, Coleraine but he is known best for his contribution to Glenavon FC, at his spell there he scored...	Penske Penske Racing Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske...  PC-10 chassis
1983	Vernon Gleasman	Gleason-Torsen differential Torsen Torsen is a type of differential used in automobiles. It was invented by American Vernon Gleasman and manufactured by the Gleason Corporation. Torsen is a contraction of Torque-Sensing...
1984	Robin Herd Robin Herd Robin Herd is an English engineer, designer and businessman.Herd graduated from St Peter's College, Oxford with a double first in physics and engineering, before joining the Royal Aircraft Establishment in 1961 as a design engineer on the Concorde supersonic aircraft project...	March March Engineering March Engineering was a Formula One constructor and manufacturer of customer racing cars from the United Kingdom. Although only moderately successful in Grand Prix competition, March racing cars enjoyed much better achievement in other categories of competition including Formula Two, Formula Three,...  84C chassis
1985	Ron Kociba and Joe Negri Joe Negri Joseph Harold Negri is a jazz guitarist and educator from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During his years as Musical Director at WTAE-TV, he appeared on the former children's television show Paul Shannon's Adventure Time and other locally-produced shows on the station...	Buick Buick Buick is a premium brand of General Motors . Buick models are sold in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Taiwan, and Israel, with China being its largest market. Buick holds the distinction as the oldest active American make...  V6 Turbo Turbocharger A turbocharger, or turbo , from the Greek "τύρβη" is a centrifugal compressor powered by a turbine that is driven by an engine's exhaust gases. Its benefit lies with the compressor increasing the mass of air entering the engine , thereby resulting in greater performance...  engine
1986	Mario Illien Mario Illien Mario Illien is an engineer specialising in motorsport engine design and comes from Chur in the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. Despite living in a country in which motor racing was banned in 1955 , he developed an interest in the sport during the 1960s while following the career of Jo Bonnier,...	Ilmor Ilmor Ilmor, founded by Mario Illien and Paul Morgan in November 1983, is a British independent high-performance autosport engineering company. With manufacturing based in Brixworth, Northamptonshire, and maintenance offices in Plymouth, Michigan, the company supplies engines and consultancy to the... -Chevrolet Chevrolet Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...  engine
1987	Stuart Grant	Goodyear Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....  Racing radial tire Radial tire A radial tire is a particular design of automotive tire . In this design, the cord plies are arranged at 90 degrees to the direction of travel, or radially ....
1988	John Lindo and Ray Sorce	Tilton Carbon/Carbon clutch
1989	Anthony Purnell	Intelligent Dashboard
1990	Bill Simpson Bill Simpson Bill Simpson , is a retired American racecar driver, but is best known as a pioneer in the racing safety business with his company Simpson Performance Products. He left Simpson Performance in a controversy surrounding Dale Earnhardt's death and started Impact! Racing... , Mike Held, Tim Halsmer and Luciano Aquirre	"Beadall" racing helmet
1991	Don Halliday	Truesports Truesports Truesports was an automobile racing team founded by Jim Trueman based in Hilliard, Ohio. The team is best known for winning the 1986 Indianapolis 500 and back-to-back CART championships in 1986 and 1987....  91C chassis
1992	Alan Mertens	Galmer Galmer Galmer was an American racecar manufacturer that built cars used from 1992 through 1993 in CART competition and the Indianapolis 500. The cars were commissioned by the Galles Racing team...  chassis
1993	Nigel Bennett Nigel Bennett Nigel Bennett is an English actor/director/writer who has been based in Canada since 1986. He is best known for playing the vampire patriarch Lucien LaCroix in the TV series Forever Knight, for which he won the Canadian Gemini Award for best supporting actor in a dramatic series.-Life and...	Penske Penske Racing Penske Racing is a racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series and NASCAR. They also previously competed in road racing, and Formula One. Penske Racing is a division of Penske Corporation, and is owned and chaired by Roger Penske...  Chevy 93 chassis
1994	Mario Illien Mario Illien Mario Illien is an engineer specialising in motorsport engine design and comes from Chur in the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. Despite living in a country in which motor racing was banned in 1955 , he developed an interest in the sport during the 1960s while following the career of Jo Bonnier,...	Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...  500 I engine
1995	Chris Munroe and Don Nowicki	Tire Monitoring System
1996	Dave Schnelker, I-Fu Shih, Ning Wu and Ed Rothrock	Racing EyeCue
1997	Ed Keating and Roger Allen Roger Allen Roger Allen may refer to:*Roger MacBride Allen , American science fiction author*Roger Allen , former territorial level politician from Northwest Territories, Canada...	Aurora V8 engine
1998	John Melvin John Melvin Lieutenant John T. Melvin was an officer in the United States Navy.Born at Selma, Alabama, Melvin was appointed midshipman 6 July 1907 and commissioned ensign 7 July 1911...  and John Pierce John Pierce John Pierce is the name of:* John J. Pierce , writer* John M. Pierce , American amateur astronomer* John R. Pierce , American engineer, Professor, and author* John Pierce, member of the group Pablo CruiseSee also...	GM General Motors General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...  Motorsports Safety Technology Research Program  (MSTRP)
1999	Gian Paolo Dallara Gian Paolo Dallara Gianpaolo Dallara is an Italian businessman and motorsports engineer. He is owner of Dallara Motorsports, a company that develops racing cars.-Biography:Dallara was born in Parma....	Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993...  chassis
2000	Paul Burgess	G-Force Élan Motorsport Technologies Élan Motorsport Technologies is an umbrella company containing the race car manufacturing companies owned by the Panoz Motor Sports Group. Élan designs and builds Panoz-branded race cars, and have also acquired other manufacturers, including famous Formula Ford builders Van Diemen and IndyCar...  GF05 chassis
2001	Robert Hubbard and James Downing Jim Downing James "Jim" Downing, born January 4, 1942, in Atlanta, Georgia, is the five-time IMSA Championship winning, owner/driver of , and principal in the development of the HANS Device.-Personal life:...	HANS Device HANS device The HANS device is a safety item compulsory in many car racing sports...
2002	Dr. Dean Sicking, Dr. Ronald Faller, Dr. John Rohde, Dr. John Reid John Reid -Politics:* John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan , Former British Home Secretary and former Chairman of Celtic F.C.* John William Reid , U.S. Representative from Missouri...  and Jim Holloway Jim Holloway ----Jim Holloway , an American, was one of the first of a new generation of boulderers for whom the sport was a lifestyle rather than a recreation. He began bouldering in the early 1970s in Boulder, Colorado, and in 1973 established his first notable route, Just Right...	SAFER barrier SAFER barrier The Steel and Foam Energy Reduction barrier, sometimes called a soft wall, is a technology found primarily on oval automobile race tracks and intended to make racing accidents safer...
2003	Gian Paolo Dallara Gian Paolo Dallara Gianpaolo Dallara is an Italian businessman and motorsports engineer. He is owner of Dallara Motorsports, a company that develops racing cars.-Biography:Dallara was born in Parma....	Dallara Dallara Dallara Automobili is an Italian chassis manufacturer for various motor racing series, being most notable for its near-monopoly in Formula 3 since 1993...  IR3 chassis
2004	Yasuhide Sakamoto, Steve Eriksen, Steve Miller Steve Miller Steve or Steven Miller may refer to:*Steve Miller , President and CEO of the Professional Bowlers Association*Steve Miller , CEO of Delphi Corporation*Steven L...  and Steve O'Connor Steve O'Connor Steve O'Connor played 290 games in the Australian National Soccer League and represented Australia in the national team with 44 Socceroo appearances.-Background:...	Honda Honda is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...  HI4R-A engine
2005	Glen Gray Glen Gray Glen Gray Knoblauch, better known as Glen Gray, was a jazz saxophonist and leader of the Casa Loma Orchestra.... , Andy Inman, Tim Kronenberg, Erskine Carter and Bruce Natvig	Delphi Earpiece Sensor System Development of electronics for GM auto racing In 1986, the GM Motorsports group asked Delco Electronics Corporation , a subsidiary of GM Hughes Electronics if an electronic engine management system could be developed for the Chevy Indy V8 engines used in the CART open-wheel race series...
2006	Thomas German, Justin Horning and Tom Janiczek	Rear Wing Adjuster Tool
2007	Glen Gray Glen Gray Glen Gray Knoblauch, better known as Glen Gray, was a jazz saxophonist and leader of the Casa Loma Orchestra.... , Andy Inman, Tim Kronenberg, Erskine Carter and Bruce Natvig	Delphi Accident Data Recorder 3 Development of electronics for GM auto racing In 1986, the GM Motorsports group asked Delco Electronics Corporation , a subsidiary of GM Hughes Electronics if an electronic engine management system could be developed for the Chevy Indy V8 engines used in the CART open-wheel race series...
2008	Andrew Heathershaw, Soungjin Wou, Nick Belonogoff, and Andrea Toso	Bishop Steering Technology Variable Ratio Rack and Pinion Steering Technology