AACHEN, Germany, January 28th, 2009 – Dr. Andreas Schamel and Professor Dr. Pim van der Jagt have been appointed Managing Directors of the Ford Research Center in Aachen, Germany, effective February 1st, 2009, following the retirements of Dr. Charles Wu and Professor Dr. Horst Schulte. Andreas will assume the lead role as site manager of the Ford Research Center Aachen and have overall responsibility for the operational business.
Andreas Schamel has been with Ford since 1987 starting in component analysis computer aided engine engineering in the company's Merkenich Development Centre in Cologne. Prior to his current assignment, Andreas was the Chief Engineer, Engine Research, Research & Advanced Engineering for Ford Motor Company, based in Dearborn. His responsibilities included the Research, Advanced Development and Testing associated with gasoline engines & diesel engines for North America as well as leading hydrogen internal combustion engines. Andreas, who was born in Bonn in 1962, received an MSc in Advanced Automotive Engineering and a PhD, both from Loughborough University of Technology, England.
In 2007, Pim van der Jagt was appointed Executive Technical Leader of Global Advanced Vehicle Dynamics at Ford Research & Advanced Engineering Europe with responsibility for all vehicle dynamics technologies worldwide and cross brand. This includes the development and implementation of active safety systems into the Ford products. Pim, born in Rotterdam in 1963, joined the Ford Research Centre Aachen in 1996 as a Staff Technical Specialist for Vehicle Dynamics and then became Manager of Vehicle Integration & Manufacturing. In 1987, Pim obtained an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the Delft University of Technology and he received his PhD from Eindhoven University of Technology in 2000. In 2008 he was named a Visiting Professor at the Loughborough University of Technology in England.
Both Dr Charles Wu and Horst Schulte have elected to retire from the company.
Dr. Charles Wu joined Ford Motor Company in 1974 at the Ford Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn, Michigan and in 1998 he became the centre's Director, Manufacturing, Vehicle Design and Safety. In June 2008 he took on the additional assignment of managing director of the European research organisation.
Horst Schulte joined Ford in 1999 as Chief Engineer Powertrain of Research & Advanced Engineering Europe and Managing Director of the Ford Research Centre Aachen.
The Ford Research Center Aachen, founded in 1994, is dedicated to basic as well as applied research, and collaborates with suppliers, institutions and universities worldwide. It is the only Ford Motor Company research location in the world outside of Detroit. It has around 250 employees from over 25 nations.
Environmental and sustainability research is being done in areas as diverse as next generation diesel and gasoline engine development, environmental science, alternative powertrains, telematics and new materials research. Safety and health aspects are being addressed in the areas of vehicle dynamics, active safety systems, and vehicle interior concepts.
Pim van der Jagt
Andreas Schamel