Mircea Gradu, New Automotive VP of SAE International

A member of SAE International since 1994, Mircea Gradu has recently been nominated for Automotive Vice President of SAE International. Gradu, who is the Head of Virtual Tools Analysis and Transmission/Driveline Engineering at Chrysler Group will be serving a three-year term on the SAE Board of Directors starting in January 2010.

The Romanian will succeed Jacqui A. Dedo, Automotive Vice President at Dana Holding Corporation, and will "take responsibility for providing leadership and continuity for the Society's automotive initiative and for integrating the needs of the automotive industry in SAE International's standards, events and educational programs."

More than 121,000 engineers and related technical experts in the automotive, aerospace and commercial-vehicle industries are a part of SAE International that also comprises a charitable arm which supports many programs, including A World in Motion and the Collegiate Design Series.

Gradu holds a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Stuttgart. He was also honored with the SAE Edward N. Cole Award for Automotive Engineering Innovation in 2008 and the SAE Forest McFarland Award in 2005.

In his current role with Chrysler Group, Gradu is responsible for identifying, enhancing and deploying virtual engineering capability. Additionally, Gradu serves as Head of Transmission and Driveline Engineering for Chrysler Group.

Gradu is therefore responsible for developing, designing and releasing all transmission and driveline systems. Prior to joining Chrysler Group in 2007, Gradu was Director and Chief Engineer of Automotive Engineering at The Timken Company.