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Ford's chief technical officer and vice-president of research and advanced engineering talks about funding university projects, developing better combustion engines, and why batteries must improve
What takes up most of your time on a day-to-day basis?
* I have to guide the company in the right technology direction. It's very broad because that covers everything from powertrain to safety to new materials to lightweighting to infotainment. I have to make the right technical assessments and give the right guidance to keep moving the company forwards.
Is it hard to keep a clear focus when there are so many new technologies coming through and when legislative demands are often conflicting?
" The good thing is that we work with a very talented group of people, on the leadership side and also in your own staff, so not all the wisdom has to be in your own head. You have to be the one making the decisions and guiding development in the right direction but not necessarily having all of the detailed knowledge about everything.
The CO2 issue affects almost everything the industry is doing but how much does it influence your role?
" Roughly half of my...