SAE Foundation Presents FEV-Sponsored Stefan Pischinger Young Industry Leadership Award

Auburn Hills, Mich., May 23, 2014 – FEV North America, Inc., announced today that the SAE Foundation’s Stefan Pischinger Young Industry Leadership Award was presented to Dr. Yanping Xia, Ph.D., Delphi Automotive, and Sridhar Raveendran, Caterpillar, Inc. FEV North America, Inc. president and CEO Patrick Hupperich made the announcement.  The award was presented at the SAE Foundation annual banquet on May 22, 2014 at the Masonic Temple, Detroit, Mich.

The Young Industry Leadership Award is award presented annually to promote careers in the engineering community by recognizing young men and women, ages 35 and under, who have achieved major accomplishments and show significant potential for leadership growth.

“The ability to create the next great innovation is only limited by lack of vision and leadership,” said Hupperich. “We hope that by recognizing these emerging engineering leaders, we can inspire that vision in future generations, promoting significant achievements in various areas of technology development. We are gratified that the SAE Foundation has recognized Dr. Xia and Mr. Raveendran as individuals who will sustain this industry for many years, while mentoring and leading the next generation of engineering talent.”

Sponsored by FEV North America, Inc., a leading developer of advanced powertrain and vehicle systems, the award is named for Prof. Stefan Pischinger, president and CEO of the FEV Group, headquartered in Aachen, Germany. He also serves in a parallel role as the director of the Institute for Internal Combustion Engines (VKA) at the Aachen University of Technology (RWTH), in Aachen, Germany.

Dr. Yanping Xia

Dr. Yanping Xia, an advanced technologist and technical planner with Delphi Automotive in its Thermal Systems division, is currently the principal investigator for a Delphi project involving a global team comprising Delphi, Tata and the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development. The project is managed under the auspices of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition, United Nations Environmental Program.

Dr. Xia has been characterized by her colleagues as “one of the strongest young engineers at Delphi, with a deep understanding of technology…” During her career, Dr. Xia has been a part of the design team of the first-to-world indoor/outdoor MCHX® air conditioning units, and both residential and commercial heat pumps.

Dr. Xia has eight patents pending in the U.S., and holds two Chinese patents. She is a Black Belt in Six Sigma and a reviewer for several technical journals. Xia is actively involved in projects for thermal, HVAC and environmental engineering at her alma mater, the University of Illinois, where trains peers and supervises interns, and has been a mentor for SAE’s 2014 Speeding Mentoring event.

Dr. Xia is a graduate of Tsinghua University in Beijing with both a BE and ME in thermal engineering. She was awarded her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois in 2006.

Sridhar Raveendran

Mr. Raveendran is an engineering team leader in the electronics division at Caterpillar, Inc. Currently, he leads Caterpillar’s powertrain software test team, expanding it significantly under his supervision, while implementing significant cost savings in engineering and software testing velocity.

Raveendran has been recognized by his colleagues for his work in new business strategies, increasing efficiency in procedures and testing, and helping Caterpillar dealers increase turnover and create new markets. Raveendran has developed strong leadership skills while managing global validation teams for more than 13 product lines.

Actively involved with youth and as a mentor, Raveendran coaches high school students in robotic competitions, and teaches an undergraduate course at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He is a certified quality engineer, and a member of he SAE, and the India Society of Mechanical Engineers. He has received numerous awards during his career.

Raveendran earned a mechanical engineering degree from Bharathiyar University.

About the SAE Foundation

The SAE Foundation is the charitable arm of SAE International that strives to encourage and increase student participation and achievement in science, technology, engineering and math through many programs, including A World In Motion® and the Collegiate Design Series. SAE International is a global association of more than 128,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International's core competencies are life-long learning and voluntary consensus standards development.