(August 9, 2010) DEARBORN, Mich. — Some of the world’s brightest university professors and students are pairing up with Ford scientists in 2010 to explore a wide range of new ideas and technologies that could benefit future Ford vehicle development.
 
This year, Ford awarded 13 University Research Program (URP) grants to 12 different universities around the globe, including Wayne State University in Detroit; Stanford University in Palo Alto, California; RWTH Aachen University in Aachen, Germany; and Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.
 
The newly added three-year collaborative research projects are all championed by Ford research teams and vary in scope from testing the properties of thermoplastics modified with nano materials and developing an in-vehicle safety alert system for diabetic drivers, to studying the environmental and economic impact of batteries for electric vehicles.
 
The new Ford URP projects add to an active research portfolio that now comprises 30 studies in partnership with 26 universities globally.
 
“Research collaborations are a driving force behind the innovations bringing consumers to Ford – and will be crucial to keep them coming back,” said Gerhard Schmidt, Ford chief technical officer and vice president, Research and Advanced Engineering. “The spirit of collaboration fostered by initiatives such as the Ford University Research Program maximizes our chances of developing relevant technologies our customers want and value.”