Race Car Takes Three First-Place Awards

An interdisciplinary team of students won three first-place awards for its high-performance race car at the Formula SAE Collegiate Design Series in May at Michigan International Speedway. The students competed against 120 teams from colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad.

They received the Ford Fuel Economy Award for the highest score of 100 in fuel efficiency, FEV powertrain Development Award for being judged the best in powertrain design, and Altair Engineering’s William R. Adam Engineering Award for new and innovative design concepts. Mechanical engineering major Matt Kramer ’14, designer of the system, accepted the Altair award.

The project was conducted through the Center for Innovation, Design, Entrepreneurship, and Leadership (IDEAL), which brings together engineering and liberal arts students to work on innovative solutions to real-world issues.

Other members include Mitch McNutt ’15, double major in mathematics and economics; and Greg Dickinson ’14, Matt Tindall ’14, and Matt Cassera ’14, mechanical engineering majors.

The car, which weighs 33 percent less than last year’s model, has a 450 cc single-cylinder engine. Although having 25 percent less power than the previous 600 cc 4-cylinder engine, it accelerates fast and has better fuel economy.