Stateside engineer for Thatcham firm Xtrac picks up prestigious award

The long-serving principal design engineer for Berkshire-based transmission technology specialists Xtrac has received the 2024 Louis Schwitzer Award for his gearbox electric servo actuator.

The device has been adopted as part of Xtrac’s single source transmission supply for the NTT Indycar Series, including the famous Indianapolis 500 race held each year on the Sunday before Memorial Day.

Andrew McDougall received a $10,000 prize from the Indiana Section of SAE International (formerly Society of Automotive Engineers) and award sponsors Cummins and Valvoline Global during a Louis Schwitzer Award Banquet at the Dallara Factory in Speedway, Indiana, on 18 May.

“This award is a testament to the exceptional work of our engineering team, a group of dedicated professionals who have shared this journey with me”, said Andrew – who’s based at Xtrac’s Indiana offices, but was keen to acknowledge his colleagues back in Berkshire.

“I was particularly proud to accept the award on behalf of our senior R&D systems engineer Geoff Cholmeley, design engineer Geri Nicosia, and senior software engineer Rose Panikulam, whose collaborative contributions were instrumental in developing the electric servo actuator and taking the concept into production.”

Andrew has been a critical team member at Xtrac for over 20 years.

A seasoned professional in the motorsport industry, he graduated with a first-class mechanical engineering degree from Warwick University.

Along with the electric servo actuator (ESA), another of his innovations is Xtrac’s patented Instantaneous Gearchange System (IGS).

This purely mechanical design enables seamless gearchange shifting in zero time as it can momentarily hold two gears simultaneously without the gearbox exploding.

Adrian Moore, chief executive of Xtrac, said: “This level of expertise is mirrored in the team, with each member bringing their unique knowledge to the project.

“Their ingenuity deserves this external recognition and endorsement of their skills.

“I’d also like to pay tribute to all of the hard-working production team at Xtrac who manufacture all of the individual parts of the ESA in the UK before the final assembly, which is carried out in the USA.

“Without the quality of their work on this programme, it simply would not have been possible to supply the whole Indycar grid with this technology.”

Steve Holman, who chairs the Louis Schwitzer Award Committee, added: “This award is a prestigious automotive engineering accolade celebrating and recognising groundbreaking innovations that push the boundaries of advanced automotive technology.

“Named after Louis Schwitzer, an accomplished engineer and race car driver, the award has a rich history of honouring individuals and teams behind the innovative concepts introduced to the motorsport industry.

“This year’s award recognises Andrew’s exceptional work and team leadership and underscores the significant role of Xtrac in advancing the motorsport industry.”