Events

Young Professionals Topgolf Networking Event

November 2025

SAE Chicago hosted a fun night of golfing, appetizers, and networking at our local Topgolf. Members from 10+ different companies got together to talk about all things engineering and social in what turned out to be a fun night out. Looking forward to more events like this in 2026.

Elite Oktoberfest

October 2025

Elite hosted SAE and IEEE for their annual Oktoberfest event. Keith Frazier, recently retired from Ford, presented on the challenges in using SerDes systems in an automotive environment with special focus on required shielding performance. The talk included a review of current USCAR (The United States Council for Automotive Research) standards and needed future improvements.

COMVEC High School Student STEM Day

September 2025

SAE Chicago members gave their time at the annual SAE COMVEC conference hosted here in Chicago. They led 100+ STEM students from Chicago area high schools around the conference for indepth reviews with local universities, suppliers, and OEMs to talk all things commercial vehicles.

Elite St. Patrick’s Day Tech Talk

March 2025

Elite Engineering along with SAE Chicago and IEEE EMC Chicago Sections hosted a St. Patrick’s Day networking event and a technical talk with SAE Distinguished Speaker Dr. Jay Zhou at Elite Electronic Engineering. Members, guests, and interested attendees came together for a festive evening of conversation and professional networking.

Blackdog Speed Shop

January 2025

SAE Chicago had a great time at Blackdog Speed Shop! The event gave us the chance to see where all the magic happens. From racing and selling high-performance vehicles, to top-of-the-line upgrades, even a 500 hp dyno pull.

NIU & Fastway Engineering

October 2024

NIU hosted James Shaw of Fastway Engineering for a presentation on project management and improving design techniques through CAD, FEA, and CFD. We’re excited to see how the NIU teams apply those principles to their Formula SAE projects to get them to the podium at the annual competition in May.

Oerlikon PVD Coatings for Mechanical Components

May 2024

Bao Feng from Oerlikon Balzers, the world leader in surface engineering and tribological thin films, presented on the material properties and manufacturing processes of PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) coatings, as well as offered insights into industrial applications and their working mechanisms.

I-CAR Technical Center Presentation & Tour

March 2024

It was an evening of networking, food, technical presentations, technology demonstrations and laboratory tours at the I-CAR Chicago Technical Center. The I-CAR team took us through their Electric Vehicle, ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems), and welding labs as well as demonstrated the latest virtual reality collision repair training technology.

Elite Electronic Engineering Oktoberfest & Technical Presentation

October 2023

Elite Electronic Engineering hosted a celebration of engineering at Elite’s facility in Downer’s Grove. Karen Burnham, Principal Scientist at Electro Magnetic Applications and IEEE EMC Distinguished Lecturer, presented on Lightning Protection of Aircraft: Simulation and Test.

Enabling the Electrification of Mobile Equipment

April 2023

Parker hosted SAE Chicago for an evening of motion and control system overviews, a technical presentation on mobile equipment electrification, and food and networking with SAE Chicago members and Parker Hannifin associates.

Chicago Auto Show

February 2023

With a special thanks to CATA (Chicago Automobile Trade Association) for providing the tickets, we explored the Chicago Auto Show during their Social Media Day. We had a special presentation at the VW booth with Mark Gillies, Director of PR & Reputation at VW.

Elite Novemberfest with IEEE

November 2022

Celebrate a return to in-person technical meetings! Join us at Elite with IEEE EMC Chicago chapter! Members & guests come together for an evening of conversation and networking. Good food, refreshments, learning, and more! Come re-engage with your technical community. Stan Dolecki, a Sr EMC Engineer from Elite, will be presenting on Electric Vehicle EMC Testing. The testing methods will be described with emphasis on the unique requirement for vehicle EMC testing on a chassis dynamometer.

Vehicle Accident Analysis and Reconstruction Methods

May 2022

This webinar introduces Vehicle Accident Analysis and Reconstruction Methods and updates to the latest third edition authored by Dr. Matthew Brach, Dr. Raymond M. Brach, Dr. James Mason. Accidents that cannot be reconstructed using the methods in this book are rare. Additionally, this talk will address a couple areas within the field of vehicle accident reconstruction including low speed impact analysis methods and engineers working in litigation consulting. This presentation will be co-presented by Dr. Matthew Brach and Mr. Noel Manuel, both working for Engineering Systems Inc. (ESi) in Aurora, Illinois.

Introduction to Machine Learning with SmartUQ

February 2022

This webinar introduced Machine Learning (ML) and Uncertainty Quantification (UQ) methods, benefits, and tools with a focus on their use in solving automotive engineering challenges. Gavin Jones, Principal Application Engineer at SmartUQ, discussed basic ML and UQ methods such as Gaussian processes, sensitivity analysis, uncertainty propagation, and statistical calibration. Presented jointly with IEEE VTS.

Guardhat Technologies: Connected Worker Tech Removing Friction Between Safety and Success

November 2021

The automotive industry has long led the way in process innovation on the factory floor, but improvement in safety metrics are stalling across industries. Hear from Rakesh Panda, VP of solutions and services at Guardhat on new connected worker technologies that are moving safety up the hierarchy of control to reduce recordables and injuries, while also improving collaboration and business outcomes. This discussion will cover IIoT devices and infrastructure, worker-centric design, network and privacy considerations, and case studies on COVID-19, collision avoidance, worker condition monitoring and remote expert.

Caterpillar Autonomous Mining Solutions

February 2021

Autonomy is about automating every movement, pulling out waste, making it more repeatable, like a factory. Our customers are seeing a step change in safety with autonomy and upwards of 30% improvement in productivity. We’ll talk about how our customers have been able to deliver those results using Caterpillar Command for Hauling. We will explore the history of Caterpillar autonomy journey, highlight demonstrated results from our customers and talk about the mine of the future where we believe that someday the complete mining process could be automated — from drilling and digging, to loading, hauling, processing and transporting mined materials. We envision an operation where most of the equipment could be autonomous, which will result in the safest, most efficient mine sites in the world.

SAE Chicago Student Welcome Event

October 2020

Find out more about SAE Student membership and the unique benefits of the Chicago Section. Also, Networking with Engineering Professionals and Students, Collegiate Design Series, Internships and Entry Level Opportunities presented by: Navistar, Parker Hannifin, Collins Aerospace, ESi

Webinar – Know the Unknowns: Addressing Disturbances and Uncertainties in Connected and Autonomous Vehicles

August 2020

This talk will present his recent work in this area, including:

1) Models and methods for analyzing system safety and applying adaptation strategies under bounded disturbances such as timing violations and soft errors,

2) Algorithms and tools for formally verifying the safety of neural network controlled systems, and

3) A cross-layer framework for the modeling, simulation, synthesis and verification of connected vehicle applications, with the consideration of communication disturbances

If you missed it please find a recording here: Webinar Recording

Parker LORD: Selecting Adhesives for Lightweight Assembly and Electric Vehicle Battery Packs

May 2020

Adhesives for Joining Mix Material Assemblies

What to Look for with Customized Solutions

Adhesive Chemistries

SAE YP Happy Hour

February 2020

Please join us at Granite City for appetizers, drinks, and Young Professional Networking with SAE and Navistar

Blackdog Speed Shop

January 2020

Blackdog Speed Shop is the most successful team in Pirelli World Challenge SRO/GT4 competition in the series. It has claimed 29 race victories, two Team Championships and four Driver Championships to date. Founded in 2002, Blackdog Racing began competing Chevrolet Corvettes simultaneously in SCCA T1 and World Challenge. The team next ran Camaros very successfully for General Motors for six years. In 2019, Blackdog moved to McLaren, fielding two new McLaren 570S GT4’s, driven by McLaren official Factory Driver Michael Cooper and Blackdog team principal Tony Gaples. In its first year running for McLaren, the team helped secure its third Manufacturer’s title in the last six years.

Future City Chicago

January 2026

SAE Chicago was excited to volunteer by judging the local Future City Chicago competition. SAE Chicago sponsored the Excellence in Mobility Technology award and were very excited to get to present it to the Lincoln Hall Middle School for their city of Vegetevienne. Thanks to our judges for volunteering and congrats to our winners and all that participated.

Collins Aerospace Facility Tour

November 2025

Collins Aerospace hosted SAE Chicago and local SAE section members at their facility in Rockford, IL. The event included a tour of Plant 6 including the Collins Wall of History, assembly, production testing, and the development testing areas. Along the way, various subject matter experts spoke on a variety of technologies including the Ram Air Turbine (RAT), airplane power systems, wind tunnel testing, production and assembly methods, and advanced propulsion systems for reduced aircraft emissions.

NIU STEM Fest

September 2024

STEM Fest is a celebration of all things science, technology, engineering and math. This event at the campus of Northern Illinois University featured more than 100 exhibits, speakers, and demonstrations designed to inspire and engage guests of all ages with opportunities for STEM learning.

Parker Pre-COMVEC Defense Dinner

September 2025

Parker hosted us for an evening of meaningful networking and cutting-edge insight. This event featured dinner, cocktails, and networking, followed by technical presentations focused on defense vehicles from leaders at Parker and Oshkosh.

Chicago Auto Show Media Day

February 2025

With a special thanks to CATA, we got together with our members for a fun day of networking and review of the latest and greatest that the Automotive OEMs had to offer to the public.

Future City Chicago Region Competition

January 2025

Future City Competition serves 6th, 7th and 8th graders. This national program introduces students to engineering with popular Sim City software. Students design cities with simulation software, build scale models, write essays and give oral presentations on their city’s design. SAE Chicago members volunteered at the annual competition.

Elite Oktoberfest

October 2024

Elite hosted SAE and IEEE for their annual Oktoberfest event. Keith Frazier from Ford presented on the unique challenges hybrid and electric vehicle drivetrains present in meeting regulatory requirements with respect to far field radiated RF emissions. Various mitigation techniques were also summarized along with the engineering tradeoffs they create.

CNGMotive Railroad Decarbonization

April 2024

David Scott presented on the advances of startup enterprise CNGMotive in the utilization of compressed natural gas and other gaseous fuels in the North American railroad market. The presentation shared the technologies employed by CNGMotive in the safe transport and rapid fueling of gaseous fuels (Hydrogen and others) in rail applications as well as HGmotive’s evaluation of decarbonization strategies being discussed by railroads in North America.

Chicago Auto Show

February 2024

With a special thanks to CATA (Chicago Automobile Trade Association) for providing the tickets, we explored the Chicago Auto Show during the Social Media Day. We had a special preview presentation of the Super Bowl commercial at the VW booth.

SAE COMVEC Powertrain Defense Dinner and Tech Presentation

September 2023

The night prior to SAE COMVEC, Navistar hosted the COMVEC Powertrain Defense Committee, local SAE Chicago Section Members, visiting SAE Indiana Section members, and SAE student reps. Following dinner and networking, Allison and Drive System Design presented on how the Defense industry has been changing to the new world of electrification.

2023 Student CDS Competition

April 2023

Local SAE Chicago CDS Teams (Collegiate Design Series) presented about their current year progress on their designs and vehicles. We had representation from Northwestern, NIU, UIC, IIT, Bradley, and more. It was a huge honor to be able to present our top award to the NIU Formula team. Our second place prizes were awarded to the Bradley Baja team and the UIC eBaja team. We appreciated all the students that took time to prepare and present for us and everyone from SAE Chicago that could support. Looking forward to seeing what your teams can put together for the competitions next year.

Winzeler Gear Plant Tour

December 2022

Winzeler Gear is known internationally as one of the premier designers and manufacturers of precision molded plastic gears. Our tour will take us through Winzeler’s highly automated gear molding facility with the capacity to produce 150 million gears annually. It will also include a technical discussion of gearing topics lead by the expert team from Winzeler.

Collins Aerospace – Ram Air Turbine Wind Tunnel

October 2022

Join us for a technical presentation on the Collins Aerospace Ram Air Turbine (RAT) wind tunnel from Bob Myers from Collins. Bob is the Technical Lead for the RAT Wind Tunnel Project. With fully automated, state-of-the-art technology and enhanced quality via real-time data analytics, the new wind tunnel will streamline the Ram Air Turbine testing and certification process for Collins’ customers. Designed to serve as the small but mighty heart of an aircraft’s emergency power system, Collins’ Ram Air Turbine deploys from the wing or fuselage if a plane loses power in flight. By rotating its small turbine, the system extracts sufficient power from the airstream to allow the pilot to land the aircraft.

SAE Fellow Dr. Michael Wang on Argonne National Lab’s GREET Model

March 2022

SAE Fellow Dr. Michael Wang of Argonne National Laboratory explores the GREET (Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies) Model. The GREET model is a one-of-a-kind analytical tool that simulates the energy use and emissions output of various vehicle and fuel combinations. To get a complete picture of the energy and environmental impacts of a technology, it is important to consider the full life cycle – from well to wheels for fuels and from raw material mining to vehicle disposal for automobiles. As previously discussed in our ClearFlame and Ethanol events, the GREET model is the industry standard for energy life cycle analysis for fuels and materials.

Iowa Corn Growers Association: Ethanol is the Fuel of the Future

January 2022

Ethanol is America’s renewable fuel. It is reliable, clean, homegrown, affordable, and readily available. Heavy truck manufactures are also looking into technologies to reduce carbon emissions including electrification, renewable CNG and hydrogen. What does this mean for the future of ethanol? Join SAE Chicago and our special guests Kelly Nieuwenhuis and Grant Menke of the ICGA as we address the topic.

ClearFlame Engine Technologies

March 2021

ClearFlame’s CTO Dr. Julie Blumreiter spoke about their potentially groundbreaking heavy duty engine technology, which retains the high torque and fuel efficiency we’ve come to expect while using 100% decarbonized fuels, and without the need for DPF or SCR.

SAE Chicago Virtual Design Competition

February 2021

SAE Chicagoland Student Sections presented on their current SAE International Collegiate Design Series (CDS) competition vehicles. IIT, UIC, NIU, and Bradley University participants shared their progress.

Turntide Technologies: Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM)

January 2021

Piyush Desai, VP Motor Design at Turntide Technologies presented the Past, Present, and Future of the Switched Reluctance Motor (SRM).

Virtual Auto Show

September 2020

To round out the summer we’d like to have a Virtual Auto Show featuring you! Due to the current COVID-19 precautions we don’t know when our next in-person meeting will be but thought this would be a great idea to connect with our local members. We need your help to fill our show with old, new, fun, or quirky cars. Everyone is welcome! I’m guessing some of you will be giving your ride a wash and wax this Labor Day weekend so make sure to take some glamour shots after you’re done and send them in.

Advances in Automotive Performance Verification Testing for 5G and EMC Applications

June 2020

In the rapidly evolving industry of autonomous, electric and hybrid vehicles, the ability to successfully provide vehicle level antenna pattern measurements as well as EMC measurements to verify the performance of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) will be key to the future of this market and address public safety concerns. The automotive trends in wireless capabilities for high data streaming, incident detection warning, anti-collision/adaptive cruise control radar, wireless entry and vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicle-to-cloud (V2C) communication are just a few of the features impacting the functionality of today’s modern vehicles. This presentation details the challenges presented by these market demands and how innovative testing solutions help drive the technologies forward to real-life applications.

Chicago Auto Show Day

February 2020

This year SAE Milwaukee and Chicago Sections will again be teaming up with the Chicago Area Trade Association (CATA) for access to the 2020 Chicago Auto Show. CATA is sponsoring our event this year and is giving our group exclusive access to the show on the Second Media Day before the show opens to the General Public. With CATA’s support, access on media day means no crowds or lines to see the exhibits and demonstrations! An engineer from Navistar will start off the day showing off their new joint venture with GM at the Chevrolet booth.

Hendrickson International: Test Lab Tour & Company Overview

December 2019

Hendrickson is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of medium- and heavy-duty mechanical, elastomeric and air suspensions; integrated and non-integrated axle and brake systems; parabolic and multi-leaf springs; stabilizers; and bumpers and trim components to the global commercial transportation industry. Every day around the world, millions of Hendrickson suspensions carry countless loads of freight and raw material both on- and off-highway.