Wayne State University in Detroit, Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, RWTH Aachen University in Aachen, Germany, and Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, are among the universities awarded by Ford.
The research projects vary 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.
"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."
Since the URP began in 1989, Ford has invested more than $60 million in university research projects, offering nearly 500 grants to 100 schools globally. URP grants are part of a larger portfolio of Ford university research investment, which also includes ongoing formal strategic alliances with MIT, the University of Michigan, and The Boeing Company and Northwestern.
"I've been working with students and strong engineers at Ford for nearly 25 years developing rich, relevant and practical solutions that can help minimize the environmental impact of transportation," said University of Michigan Professor Jessy Grizzle, who has co-authored 16 patents with Ford. "From a university perspective, the discovery process and seeing your research come to life through real hardware implementation is extremely rewarding in and out of the classroom."
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