August 29, 2008

Students to develop “green” vehicle in EcoCAR competition

Kevin MacFadden (right) of General Motors presents Dean Louis A. Martin-Vega (second from left) and EcoCAR faculty advisor Terry Gilbert (second from right) with a check for $10,000 for NC State's EcoCAR team. Also pictured is junior Josh Lawrence, a team leader on the project. (Photo: Nate Degraff)

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North Carolina State University was among 17 universities recently selected to participate in EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge, an engineering competition in which students re-engineer a sport-utility vehicle for improved fuel economy and reduced emissions.

The three-year competition begins this fall. When it's over, sponsors hope to have a vehicle prototype that is ready for production.

Terry Gilbert, lecturer and undergraduate laboratory director in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, will be the faculty advisor for the NC State team. The students leading the team are members of the student club WEEL, or Wolfpack Energy Efficient Locomotion.

Competition sponsors include the U.S. Dept. of Energy and General Motors.

Each of the universities' teams receive $10,000, a Saturn VUE donated by General Motors, various powertrain components that help the teams complete the project, and a trained mentor from General Motors who provides technical support. The NC State mentor is Kevin MacFadden, who graduated from NC State in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering.

Teams are required to incorporate “green” technologies into their design, such as fuel cells and plug-in hybrid capabilities. Alternative fuels such as ethanol, biodiesel and hydrogen are also encouraged.

The teams design the vehicles during the first year of the competition. During the second and third years, the teams build the vehicles and refine their performance. At the end of each of those years, the vehicles undergo a week of engineering tests that determine the vehicles' greenhouse gas impacts and readiness for production.

The modified vehicles are required to maintain or improve upon stock performance and customer appeal.

-richardson-

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