Southwest Research Institute’s automotive engineering expertise on display at SAE International’s WCX™ 2023

(Press-News.org) SAN ANTONIO — April 17, 2023 —Southwest Research Institute staff members have converged upon Detroit this week to share their respective expertise with the mobility industry at the 2023 SAE International WCX™ World Congress Experience.

WCX is the “largest technical mobility event developed by the industry, for the industry,” according to SAE. The conference, which takes place April 17-20, invites mechanical, electrical and software engineers working in mobility from around the world to share knowledge and research to overcome the latest challenges facing the industry.

As leaders in mobility and automotive research, design, development, testing and analysis, SwRI staff attend WCX to present publications, demonstrate technology, help organize technical sessions and serve as expert panelists or moderators for a variety of topics.

SwRI Staff Engineer Dr. Graham Conway organized and will serve as chairperson for a session on the life cycle of electrified powertrains to help industry properly quantify emissions reductions. Conway will also serve as a panelist for a discussion about “the failures and challenges of computer-augmented engineering in the development of future advanced engine and powertrain components.”

Senior Research Engineer Dr. Vickey Kalaskar organized and will act as chairperson for sessions dealing with the production, quantification and fundamental properties of new fuels. Kalaskar also co-organized and will chair a session about homogenous charge and partially premixed compression ignition.

Dr. Douglas Brooks, assistant director of SwRI’s Artificial Intelligence Department, will serve as a panelist discussing shared language and definitions for AI applications used for ground mobility.

Principal Engineer Vinay Premnath is the co-organizer and co-chair of a multiday summit focused on safety issues for batteries used in transportation applications. The Battery Safety Summit will conclude with a panel discussion moderated by Ian Smith, manager of SwRI’s Electrified Powertrain Section.

Dr. Qilong Lu, a program manager in SwRI’s Powertrain Engineering Division, helped organize a session regarding recent developments in propulsion technologies for ground transportation. Institute Engineer Christopher Sharp will serve on a panel regarding decarbonizing transport and attaining near-zero emissions, where he will also share an update on SwRI’s ongoing systems approach to create an efficient engine with ultra-low NOx emissions.

SwRI Principal Scientist Svitlana Kroll was a co-organizer and will serve as chairperson and moderator of a panel discussion regarding the future of emission measurement and testing, which will include Institute Scientist Dr. Imad Khalek as a panelist.

Institute Engineer Dr. Thomas Briggs helped organize and will chair a multiday session about experimental work in the field of fuel injection and sprays. Briggs will also share a presentation on the potential for hydrogen engines to “achieve or beat the efficiencies seen in modern diesel engines.” Institute Engineer Kevin Hoag co-organized and will chair a session on thermodynamic system and combustion modeling of engines to reduce emissions and improve performance.

Scott Hotz, director of SwRI’s Automotive Propulsion Systems Department, will chair a session covering vehicle connectivity and automation. Hotz also organized a panel moderated by Briggs discussing the viability of different mobility decarbonization pathways, such as electrification, fuel cells, e-fuels and hydrogen internal combustion engines.

Additionally, SwRI staff will present some of their innovative automotive research throughout WCX. See more than 20 publications and presentations discussing SwRI-affiliate research at WCX.

For more information, visit https://www.swri.org/event/sae-international-world-congress-experience-wcx.

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