Altair Enlighten Award opens for submissions

Enlighten Award 2020 winner for “Future of Lightweighting” category, Marelli. Image depicts ASMC suspension steering knuckle. Photo Credit: Altair

Altair (Troy, Mich., U.S.) announced on Feb. 15 that the 2021 Altair Enlighten Award is open for submissions (see the 2020 Enlighten Awards). Presented annually with the Center for Automotive Research (CAR, Mich., U.S.), the Enlighten Award has expanded beyond lightweighting to celebrate sustainability initiatives, which help reduce carbon footprint, mitigate water and energy consumption and engage in material reuse and recycling.

“Year after year, the Altair Enlighten Award sparks growing interest from policymakers, educators and engineers to industry leaders from all around the world, and we are proud to use this platform to showcase the most impactful innovations in lightweighting and sustainability,” says James Scapa, founder and chief executive officer, Altair. “The convergence of simulation, high-performance computing and AI solutions is empowering the automotive sector to produce smarter, more connected, sustainable vehicles, and we are proud to lead this evolution.”

The Enlighten Award judging categories are:

Sustainable Product: Emissions, lightweighting and safety advances in a production vehicle or major system module.
Sustainable Process: Material reuse/recycling and water conservation advances in manufacturing.
Module Lightweighting: Mass reduction of a vehicle module, subsystem or component.
Lightweighting Enabling Technology: Technology advancement that enables vehicle lightweighting, including a material, production process, design method or joining technology.
Future of Lightweighting: Process, material or technology not in production, but has significant potential to advance vehicle lightweighting.

“Collaborating with Altair on the Enlighten Award is always an honor, and we are excited to see it evolve to acknowledge innovations in sustainability,” adds Carla Bailo, president and chief executive officer, Center for Automotive Research. “As the industry moves forward with electrification, the drive for increased lightweighting and sustainability is critical. This award co-sponsored with Altair demonstrates the breakthroughs needed to propel our industry forward.”

For more information and to submit an entry, visit here. Entries must be received by May 31, 2021. Final judging will occur in July and winners will be announced in an awards ceremony on August 4, 2021 at the annual CAR Management Briefing Seminars (MBS).