RELEASE ON RECEIPT



                ALLIEDSIGNAL DONATES 17 METAL ALLOY PATENTS TO U.VA.
        CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Oct. 15 -- AlliedSignal has donated 17 patents 
worth more than $7 million to the University of Virginia's School of 
Engineering and Applied Science in what is believed to be the first such gift 
to U.Va. and AlliedSignal's largest charitable donation ever.
        The Fortune 100 manufacturer, which has a large business presence in 
Virginia, donated the patents protecting high-performance metal alloy 
technology to the Engineering School because of its "superb reputation and 
capacity for research and development" in this area, according to 
AlliedSignal Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lawrence A. Bossidy.
        "Each of these patents marks the fruition of years of work and 
dedication from many of our researchers and scientists," Bossidy said. "We 
hope they can be useful learning devices to the faculty and students who 
study them."
        The Engineering School's Light Metals Research Center will lead the 
effort to develop the patent-protected alloys further along the path toward 
commercial viability. The center was founded and is directed by University 
Professor Edgar A. Starke Jr., a premier researcher and leading scholar of 
aluminum technology, and a long-time U.Va. professor of materials science and 
engineering.
        "We are very appreciative of this generous gift from AlliedSignal," 
said Gene D. Block, vice provost for research. "Patent royalties play an 
important role in supporting the research of faculty and students."
        The AlliedSignal gift marks what is believed to be the first time 
ever that U.Va. will manage patents created by inventors outside the 
University community.
        AlliedSignal receives about 200 new patents each year and has about 
10,000 active patents worldwide, according to Thomas Major, director of 
licensing, AlliedSignal Technologies Inc.
        Along with Starke's expertise in aluminum technology, another factor 
in AlliedSignal's decision to donate these patents to U.Va. was the company's 
sizable business investment in Virginia. AlliedSignal has manufacturing 
plants and other facilities located throughout the state, in Chesterfield, 
Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Lynchburg, Petersburg, Portsmouth, Roanoke and 
Wallops Island.
        Over the past decade, AlliedSignal and its affiliates have donated 
nearly $500,000 to U.Va., not counting employee gifts. Most of these 
donations have been earmarked for the chemical engineering department of the 
School of Engineering and Applied Science and for the Darden Graduate School 
of Business Administration. Other gifts have gone to the Engineering School's 
Technology, Culture and Communications program, the McIntire School of 
Commerce, the athletic department, the Virginia Student Aid Foundation and 
scholarships.
        This gift will count toward the University's ongoing capital campaign, 
which has raised more than $500 million toward its goal of $750 million by 
the year 2000.
        AlliedSignal maintains other ongoing ties with U.Va. through student 
recruitment and by providing guest lecturers to the engineering and business 
schools.
        The 17 patents, which protect the specific processes by which the
alloys are made as well as the materials themselves, cover three classes of 
metals, according to Starke:
        % High-temperature aluminum monolithic alloys, which are all-metal 
          materials
        % Aluminum metal-matrix composites, which are combinations of 
          metaland ceramics
        % Magnesium alloys
        All are considered to be light-weight alloys that have potential uses 
in the aerospace industry and possibly for high-performance, high-end sports 
equipment, Starke said. The monolithic alloys are cheaper to make than the 
composites, which are stiffer. The magnesium alloys are lighter than aluminum.
        "Some of the patents, such as Alloy 8009, can offer a competitive 
benefit to aerospace manufacturers," Starke said. " High temperature aluminum 
has properties comparable to titanium, but is lighter and more economical." 
Titanium is about five times more expensive than aluminum.
        "We will continue to develop and advance the patents in the hopes of 
one day introducing the technology to the aerospace market place," said 
Starke, who plans to seek research funding for that effort from the U.S. Air 
Force or the Department of Defense. The thrust of his research will be
to determine the highest operating temperature at which the materials can be 
used before they lose their useful properties (of stiffness, strength and 
ductilibility, the ability of a metal to be shaped without breaking).  
The ultimate goal is to develop properties attractive to the aerospace
industry, Starke said.
        While conventional aluminum cannot withstand temperatures in excess 
of 212 degrees Fahrenheit, these aluminum alloys are stable at temperatures 
up to 800 degrees Fahrenheit, making them ideal for certain aerospace uses, 
Starke said. However, the markets for these materials are relatively small 
and the processes are expensive so researchers must focus on improving the 
materials and streamlining the manufacturing process to cut costs while 
University officials in charge of licensing the technology seek specialized 
manufacturers to serve these niche markets.
        The U.Va. Patent Foundation, which coordinated the gift, handles U.Va. 
patents and  currently manages 530 inventions created by University staff and 
students, according to Jamie Robinette, commercial director of the Foundation. 
Since its establishment in 1977, the Foundation has earned more than $15 
million. After covering administrative costs, royalties returned to the 
university are shared by the inventors, the inventors' laboratories and 
schools, and the Vice Provost's Scholarly Activities Fund, which supports a 
broad range of academic research in the sciences and humanities.
        Headquartered in northern New Jersey, AlliedSignal is a $14 billion 
advanced technology and manufacturing company with 70,000 employees in 40 
countries. It is among the 100 largest corporations on the Fortune 500 list 
and is one of 30 companies included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
                                       ###
                                                        October 15, 1997
        For more information, call Will Rea with AlliedSignal in Petersburg 
at (804) 520-3189, or Charlotte Crystal at U.Va. at (804) 924-6858.  
Television reporters should call the University's TV News office at (804) 
924-7550.