Ohio State EcoCAR 3 team nabs victory in EcoCAR 3 competition
Congratulations to the Ohio State University EcoCAR 3 team on winning its third consecutive EcoCAR 3–Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition. EcoCAR 3 is a four-year collegiate automotive engineering competition that challenges 16 universities across North America to redesign a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro, improving its efficiency and emissions while retaining the iconic Camaro performance value.
“They’re the best prepared Ohio State team that I’ve brought to an EcoCAR competition,” said Shawn Midlam-Mohler, the team's faculty advisor and an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.
“They set the stage for a great competition by putting over 2000 miles on the car prior to coming, and gave so much of their time to the competition.”
The team was recognized for its outstanding performance across all events of the competition, taking home an impressive 15 awards overall.
“I’m extremely proud of all the talented people on the team and the hard work they gave to the project,” team leader and engineering manager Andrew Huster said. “It’s been an honor to be the team leader and it’s great to finish up my EcoCAR experience with a win.”
Ohio State placed first in 11 of the 15 awards they won and will be taking home over $20,000 in award money.
“It was awesome winning the Best Project Status Presentation and First-Place Project Management Award,” project manager, recently graduated Nick Tomczak said. “It’s been really great to have a team behind me who supported me and worked diligently to produce a reliable vehicle.”
Year three might have just ended, but the team is already looking forward to year four, the final year of the competition. Brandon Bishop, a first-year master’s student majoring in mechanical engineering, will be stepping up into the team leader/engineering manager role next year.
“I’m really glad to step into a higher leadership role and looking forward to continuing our tradition of excellence.” said MAE student Brandon Bishop. “Everyone is so great to work with and coming off a win, everyone is going to be really motivated to keep it going and will be working hard all year long.”
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Georgia Institute of Technology took second and third place in the competition, respectively.
The EcoCAR 3 competition is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors. Additional sponsors include: MathWorks; National Science Foundation; California Environmental Protection Agency Air Resources Board; NXP; AVL Powertrain Engineering; the Bosch Group; ETAS; PACCAR; dSpace, Inc.; Snap-on Tools; Siemens PLM Software; GKN Driveline; Transportation Research Center; DENSO; Champlain Cable; Woodward; Proterra; Ricardo; Mentor Automotive; New Eagle; Gage Products; Tesa Tape; Vector CANtech, Inc.; Delphi Foundation; EcoMotors; Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.; A123 Systems; Flextronics; and Samsung, SDI.
The Ohio State EcoCAR sponsors include TE Connectivity; Johnson Controls; Ford; Honda; DENSO North American Foundation; Fastenal; Cooper Tire and Rubber; Clean Fuels Ohio; Earth Day Coalition; Ganley Chevrolet; and Auto Smarts Radio.
To learn more about the EcoCAR 3 program, visit www.ecocar3.org.
To learn more about the Ohio State EcoCAR 3 program, visit ecocar.osu.edu.
Original article by Colleen Herr of the Center for Automotive Research
