Chennai: (April 8, 2009) – Dr. P.A. Lakshminarayanan, Head of Engine R&D at Ashok Leyland, the Hinduja flagship, has been selected for Fellow Grade Status by SAE International. Dr. Lakshminarayanan will receive an award commemorating his status during the SAE 2009 World Congress Awards Ceremony in Detroit, April 21.

SAE Fellowship is the highest grade of membership issued by SAE International, a global association of more than 121,000 engineers and related technical experts in the automotive, aerospace and commercial vehicle industries. It recognizes and honors long-term members who have made a significant impact on society's mobility technology through leadership, research and innovation. This honor, established in 1975, is bestowed upon an average of 20 worldwide recipients each year.

Dr. Lakshminarayanan is being recognized for his research related to combustion, flows and tribology in internal-combustion engines and for the development of various other engines. Over the past three decades, with Ashok Leyland and earlier with Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd., he has been actively involved with the design and development of 26 different direct-injection diesel engines for both on- and off-road applications that have been recognized for their worthiness to meet the exacting Indian conditions.

Along with his co-authors, Dr. Lakshminarayanan has written 39 research papers on tribology, combustion, flow, and emissions, three of which have been recognized by national and international awards. He also has been granted five patents and his proposal for the publication of a book on diesel combustion has been accepted by the leading European technical publisher, Springer Verlag. For his contributions, he was awarded the highest honor by the Indian Automotive Engineering Society, now part of SAE-India. He currently serves on the executive committee of the Southern India section of SAE-India.