SAE Family Night Highlights 'Excellence In Engineering'
24 February 1999
Delphi-Sponsored SAE Family Night Highlights 'Excellence In Engineering'TROY, Mich., Feb. 24 -- Robots, flight simulators, Indy car racing and a "Monsoon" are all part of a Delphi Automotive Systems sponsored event designed to introduce parents and children of all ages to the exciting world of engineering. The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) is holding its annual Family Night celebration from 5 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, March 2, 1999, at Cobo Arena (adjacent to Cobo Hall) in Detroit. The event is being held in conjunction with the 1999 SAE International Congress & Exposition, which runs March 1-4 at Cobo Hall. Carrying the theme "Excellence in Engineering," SAE Family Night combines several engineering displays and a number of hands-on activities to provide an educational and fun forum for learning more about engineering. The event is free and open to the public. "One of the great things about choosing a career in engineering is its incredible diversity -- it can take you in many directions, and open doors you never thought possible," said Dr. Andrew Brown, Jr., director of engineering at Delphi. "With technology in the automotive industry and in general changing so rapidly, it's important we have a strong and talented corps of young engineers ready to meet our 21st-century engineering challenges. "Through events such as SAE's Family Night, young people can see up close some of the many exciting directions engineering is going, and that they, too, can be a part of this exciting future." One of the displays features robots built by local high school students through the FIRST Competition. FIRST, which stands for "For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology," is an international program designed to get high school students as enthused about science, math and technology as an athletic competition. FIRST joins engineers and students together for a specific mission: to design, engineer and construct a fully functional robot, built from a kit that includes a control system, electrical components, motors, batteries, and other hardware in six weeks. A Delphi-sponsored team from Kokomo, Ind., won last year's competition. SAE Family Night participants will have the opportunity to see the robots in action and learn from student team members how the robots were made. Other highlights and displays at SAE Family Night: * Wright-Patterson Air Force Base F16 flight simulator -- Children will be able to sit in the cockpit of the F16 flight simulator, put on the helmet and take part in a virtual reality airborne "dogfight." Display boards also will depict research projects underway at Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, Ohio. * Indy Racing League (IRL) driver Scott Sharp -- Sharp, driver of the Delphi-sponsored No. 8 IRL car, will be on hand to meet parents and children, and to sign autographs. Participants can also have their photos taken in a mock-up of his race car. * Delphi's Monsoon audio system -- Children will learn about the importance of acoustics and audio in today's vehicles through the Monsoon audio display. * Slot Car Racetrack -- Six "drivers" can put the pedal to the metal for each race and learn about Delphi's involvement in motorsports, as well as the importance of aerodynamics, speed and acceleration. * Helmet Theater/Kids Design Studio -- Keeping with the racing theme, SAE Family Night attendees can sit in the "helmet" and view highlights from the 1998 IRL. Also, Children can take part in designing a new race car for Sharp and his team. In addition to the numerous activities, prizes will be available for each child entering the show, while quantities last. Refreshments also will be available. For more information on SAE Family Night, call 248-936-8935. Delphi Automotive Systems, with headquarters in Troy, Mich., USA, is a world leader in automotive component and systems technology. Delphi's three business sectors -- Dynamics & Propulsion; Safety, Thermal & Electrical Architecture; and Electronics & Mobile Communications -- provide comprehensive product solutions to complex customer needs. Delphi has more than 200,000 employees and operates 169 wholly owned manufacturing sites, 40 joint ventures and 27 technical centers in 36 countries. Regional headquarters are located in Paris, Tokyo and Sao Paulo. Delphi can be found on the Internet at http://www.delphiauto.com.