Louis Schwitzer Award
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The Louis Schwitzer Award for engineering innovation and excellence at the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race 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 Section of SAE International ([1]) 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 Borg Warner Inc. 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 participant. In addition, the winner’s name is added to a permanent trophy on display at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.
Recent Louis Schwitzer Award winners include the developers of the HANS Device, the SAFER Barrier, 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 motorsports venues.
[edit] Louis Schwitzer Award Winners
| Year | Winner | Concept |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Andy Granatelli | Turbine Powered Car |
| 1968 | Dan Gurney | Low Cost Racing Engine |
| 1969 | Colin Chapman | Lotus Type 64 |
| 1970 | Bruce McLaren | McLaren M15 |
| 1971 | Josef Karasek | McNamara Chassis |
| 1972 | Dan Gurney | Eagle Chassis |
| 1973 | Smokey Yunick | Stock Block Engine |
| 1974 | A.J. Foyt | Coyote Chassis |
| 1975 | Parnelli Jones | Parnelli VP6J Chassis |
| 1976 | Roman Slobodynskyj | Lightning Chassis |
| 1977 | Bruce Crower and Bob Bubenik | Automatic Clutch and Flat 8 Engine |
| 1978 | Roman Slobodynskyj | Laydown Lightning Chassis |
| 1979 | Jim Hall and John Barnard | Chaparral 2K Chassis |
| 1980 | Geoff Ferris | Penske PC-9 Chassis |
| 1981 | John Ward | Eagle Chassis |
| 1982 | Geoff Ferris | Penske PC-10 Chassis |
| 1983 | Vernon Gleasman | Gleason-Torsen Differential |
| 1984 | Robin Herd | March 84C Chassis |
| 1985 | Ron Kociba and Joe Negri | Buick V6 Turbo Engine |
| 1986 | Mario Illien | Ilmor-Chevrolet Engine |
| 1987 | Stuart Grant | Goodyear Racing Radial Tire |
| 1988 | John Lindo and Ray Sorce | Tilton Carbon/Carbon Clutch |
| 1989 | Anthony Purnell | Intelligent Dashboard |
| 1990 | Bill Simpson, Mike Held, Tim Halsmer and Luciano Aquirre | “Beadall” Racing Helmet |
| 1991 | Don Halliday | Truesports 91C Chassis |
| 1992 | Alan Mertens | Galmer Chassis |
| 1993 | Nigel Bennett | Penske Chevy 93 Chassis |
| 1994 | Mario Illien | Mercedes-Benz 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 | Aurora V8 Engine |
| 1998 | John Melvin and John Pierce | GM Motorsports Safety Technology Research Program (MSTRP) |
| 1999 | Gian Paolo Dallara | Dallara Chassis |
| 2000 | Paul Burgess | G-Force GF05 Chassis |
| 2001 | Robert Hubbard and James Downing | HANS Device |
| 2002 | Dr. Dean Sicking, Dr. Ronald Faller, Dr. John Rohde, Dr. John Reid and Jim Holloway | SAFER Barrier |
| 2003 | Gian Paolo Dallara | Dallara IR3 Chassis |
| 2004 | Yasuhide Sakamoto, Steve Eriksen, Steve Miller and Steve O’Connor | Honda HI4R-A Engine |
| 2005 | Glen Gray, Andy Inman, Tim Kronenberg, Erskine Carter and Bruce Natvig | Delphi Earpiece Sensor System |
| 2006 | Thomas German, Justin Horning and Tom Janiczek | Rear Wing Adjuster Tool |
| 2007 | Glen Gray, Andy Inman, Tim Kronenberg, Erskine Carter and Bruce Natvig | Delphi Accident Data Recorder 3 |
