October 2009

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The Virginia Tech EcoCAR team was proud to be a part of Sustainability Week in the town of Blacksburg, home of Virginia Tech. It was a great opportunity to not only showcase the team’s GM-donated vehicle, but to answer questions about the hybrid technology they will be implementing as part of EcoCAR: NeXt Challenge. In addition to the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT) from Viriginia Tech, there were a number of other vehicles on display, all of which utilized environmentally friendly propulsion systems.

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There was a fog hovering over the parking lot on October 5th. Standing in the cold damp air, students, including team leader Carl Gabriel, waited for the arrival of the GM-donated vehicle: the reward from months of labor. The delivery truck pulled into the parking lot and the driver slowly opened the back of the truck and unloaded the vehicle. After a quick test drive around the building, the vehicle came to rest in what will be its new home for the next two years: Bay 9.

However, the GM vehicle didn’t stay too long in its new home. A mere 5 days after delivery, the vehicle was driven in the Texas Tech University Organizational Homecoming Parade. The following week, tours of the facility were given to students from the South Plains Academy and Coleman ISD, ending with a press conference on the 16th. The press conference was attended by faculty and staff from the University and news crews from KAMC and KLBK, two prominent Lubbock TV stations. The media and public outreach blitz ended this past Tuesday with a booth at the South Plains Tech Prep Career Expo http://www.southplainscollege.edu/techprep/. With public interest piqued, the vehicle is back in Bay 9, and the real work can begin.

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Last year, the UOIT EcoCAR team acquired two electric buses that we have since used to increase our visibility at outreach events. We recently wrapped one of the buses with EcoCAR imagery and made a video about the process. Check it out to learn more and see how it looks!

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Tuesday, October 6, the OSU EcoCAR team came together to anxiously await the unveiling of the new car! Everyone gathered at the Center for Automotive Research with big grins and excited chatter because the arrival of the new GM-donated car marked OSU’s official start to year two of the competition! When the team leaders finally took the cover off of the car, the team erupted into cheers for the amazing “Techno Gray” crossover SUV. As the vehicle peeled out of the garage, the team cheered again with a big “OH-IO”! We are now looking forward to showing off the new car to the Ohio State students and the Columbus Community. We are hoping to get them involved and excited about this wonderful opportunity we have to make a difference!

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Monday, October 5, WVU’s EcoCAR team received their GM-donated vehicle. Coincidentally, the car arrived on the same day that the university kicked off Ecolympics,the annual WVU campus conservation competition.

The WVU EcoCAR team eagerly waited in the parking lot outside of their workshop on the Evansdale campus in front of the Engineering Sciences Building. When the delivery truck finally pulled up and the students saw the car for the first time, their excitement was visible.

The donated vehicle was rolled out of the truck and students instantly surrounded it. “We started looking over the car immediately after it arrived on site, and everyone wanted to stay late to do some work on the vehicle,” said team captain Brody Conklin.The team is happy to finally have their car, and they are looking forward to implementing their designs.
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Since the first day of classes, the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team (HEVT) of Virginia Tech had been waiting for their vehicle. On Wednesday, September 30th, the team’s GM-donated vehicle finally arrived. The delivery truck backed up to a crowd of waiting students accompanied by a local CBS news crew. Please see the following link for local news coverage of GM donated vehicle arrival at VT: http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=11236349

Once the vehicle was turned over to the students, they immediately popped the hood and rolled up their sleeves. Ready and eager to get their hands dirty in the process of making the vehicle their own creation.

Jesse Alley, a senior Mechanical Engineering student was quoted saying, “this project is absolutely blood, sweat, and tears.” With the difficulty of the task at hand, 24 senior students threw themselves at the project. Now that their vehicle has arrived, it’s time to get to work!


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The Shiny New Snap-on Toolkit

The Shiny New Snap-on Toolkit

We’ve had a blast at this year’s kickoff event. The MathWorks and ANL have done a great job in getting all the teams together and pumped up for Year Two. Just when we were thinking things couldn’t get any better we got the news: our toolkit had arrived. Snap-on has generously sponsored the Embry-Riddle EcoEagles by providing a toolkit custom designed for the EcoCAR project. Complete with our team logo, the top-of-the-line kit will make working on the car that much easier. The nonconductive ratchet set in particular will be awesome when installing the batteries. While some of us weren’t there to see the kit when it came in, now that we’re back in Daytona Beach we plan to put it to good use.

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For the Penn State Advanced Vehicle Team, this past week has felt like Christmas! On September 29th, the team finally received their new vehicle from GM. But not only that, they received their ETS and Snap-On Tools set all in one day. The excitement couldn’t have been higher.

The team decided to hold a public debut of their new vehicle and invite local media and sponsors to attend. The event was held Monday, October 5th, from 10:00a.m. – 11:00a.m. in the parking lot/garage facilities of the team, which is sponsored by the Larson Institute. The AVT team was able to secure three speakers for the event: Mechanical and Nuclear Department Head Dr. Karen Thole, Director of the Hybrid and Hydrogen Vehicle Research Laboratory at Penn State Joel Anstrom, and State College Borough Council President Elizabeth Goreham.
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This video describes A123Systems’ technology and its participation as a sponsor in the EcoCAR Challenge.

Enjoy!

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Jerry Checking Out MSU's VUE

Jerry Checking Out MSU's VUE

Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, visited the MSU EcoCar team Wednesday, September 30. Jerry came to MSU’s campus for the College of Business’s 3rd Annual Leadership Summit. The lecture series concluded with a “Peace, Love, and Leadership” Closing Extravaganza. Here, more than 2,000 students gathered for free Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, festival booths and a speech by Mr. Greenfield on social responsibility. We feel that Ben and Jerry’s commitment to fair trade, going green and sustainability tie closely with some of EcoCar’s many messages. In addition to our station, the Extravaganza included booths from organizations such as the Community Service and Sustainability Committee, MSU Energy Management, MSUEco and the Starkville Community Market. The new MSU EcoCar was a big hit. Several students, faculty and community members stopped by to ask questions about the car; the MSU Shuttle drivers were especially fascinated by the more technical details of the mechanics. Jerry himself came to check out the booth before his presentation, asking detailed questions about the EcoCar project and sharing our enthusiasm for efforts towards sustainability.

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