February 2010

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MSU Hard at Work on their B20 EREV

February 26, 2010 in Team Posts by ggguest | No comments

The Mississippi State EcoCAR team is hard at work developing their biodiesel-powered Extended Range Electric Vehicle (EREV) before next month’s Safety and Technical Inspections. Earlier this month, the team had the opportunity to see their car moving on its own in all-electric mode! The team was very excited to see the results of all their work over the past year and a half, even if the trip was just a short run around the parking lot!

While waiting for some final parts, electrical team member, Josh Hoop, recently painted the inside of the battery box mold and the team is waiting to get it back from the carbon fiber shop so their A123Systems battery pack can be installed. 

Also, the team was thrilled to show off all their progress on the car to administrators and professors from the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) who visited their workshop last week. 

MSU is counting down the days to the competition finals in Yuma and San Diego. Until then, the team will be busy getting their car working just the way they want it, in hopes of winning the Year 2 trophy! Go State!

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EcoCAR and Bosch Celebrate Diversity

February 25, 2010 in EcoCAR News, Sponsor Post by ggguest | No comments

Bosch, an EcoCAR Gold Sponsor, is an international corporation and its associates come from and work in a wide range of countries.  Bosch’s diversity makes it possible to learn from other cultures and benefit from different perspectives and ideas.

In alignment with Black History Month, Bosch is pleased to announce the EcoCAR Diversity Award! Participating EcoCAR teams will submit an essay annually that highlights their diversity strategy, retention and outreach initiatives, and examples of how diversity has impacted their accomplishments, leadership and overall success.

Any team can apply and the winners will receive recognition and cash prizes to support their school’s EcoCAR program. Check back in on May 25 for a list of the award winners!

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Web Chat Starts Thursday at 3pm: EcoCAR Teams Take Your Questions!

February 24, 2010 in Uncategorized by ggguest | No comments

What’s it like to work with A123 batteries? How far can an EcoCAR go on a tank of gas? What’s the advantage of B20 fuel over E85? What’s the best and most challenging aspects of devoting three years to building a green car?

Join a special EcoCAR Web chat with the University of Wisconsin and North Carolina State University teams Thursday, February 25 at 3 p.m. ET right here on the Inside the Green Garage blog. Simply use the link below to join the chat and ask the teams your questions.

Click Here to Join the EcoCAR Web Chat beginning at 3 p.m. Thursday!

Breaking Down Barriers: UVic EcoCAR Mentors the Science Venture Girls Club

February 24, 2010 in Team Posts by ggguest | 1 comment

Earlier this month, the UVic EcoCAR team invited the Science Venture Girls Club to visit their shop to learn about the importance of advanced vehicle technologies. This was a special visit because there was one thing that was visibly missing—boys. For the first time in the UVic shop, females outnumbered males with a ratio of 16:1.

Engineering is a field historically dominated by males, making it easy for young females to form assumptions that they are not cut out for engineering related positions. To break through that barrier, the female UVic team members spent the afternoon with the Science Venture girls talking about different engineering roles and showcasing their EcoCAR work. The conversation started out by exploring the issue of climate change and the need for sustainable technologies and filtered down to what is being done today with advanced vehicle technologies to help alleviate the pressures human activity is placing on the environment.

The Science Venture girls were given the opportunity to come up with their own innovative vehicle solutions and draw a green vehicle of the future. They came up with an impressive range of creative ideas from magnet-powered vehicles to using waste as fuel. The UVic team then showed the girls what they are doing to their GM-donated vehicle to transform it into a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle and discussed what alternative fuel sources are becoming more widely available today.

The UVic team believes that educating today’s youth on the importance of engineering careers and sustainable practices is an essential step in ensuring a greener planet and will continue to do so throughout the EcoCAR competition. 

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The University of Wisconsin EcoCAR Team Recycles…a Motor!

February 24, 2010 in Team Posts, Video Blogs by ggguest | 2 comments

The second semester is well under way and has been very successful for the University of Wisconsin EcoCAR team. The team welcomed new members and got to work on their vehicle right away. Mechanical team member, Drew Kosmoski, led the re-packaging of a Delphi DU174 motor. Now that the motor meets the team’s needs, the next step will be installing a new output shaft.

Watch the process of recycling the motor below!

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UWAFT Promotes EcoCAR and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technology at EpCon 2010

February 23, 2010 in Team Posts by ggguest | 2 comments

The University of Waterloo’s Alternative’s Fuels Team (UWAFT) was the only student interest group to be featured at EpCon 2010, Canada’s largest student-run tech conference. UWAFT participated in the two-day conference alongside tech industry giants like RIM, Google and Microsoft. UWAFT online marketing and technical team members talked to attendees about EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge, hydrogen fuel cell technology and social media marketing.  

At the event, UWAFT addressed questions about the team’s vehicle design and the EcoCAR competition. Attendees expressed a strong interest in UW’s alternative transportation ideas and had the opportunity to see the team’s interactive car-design Web demo  and technical poster that won 1st place at the Winter Workshop. UWAFT team members also had in-depth conversations with students and researchers about the feasibility of hydrogen fuel cell being the ultimate alternative transportion technology.

EpCon was a successful event for UWAFT. In addition to talking to the general public, the team secured media opportunities, networked with leading tech innovators, exchanged social media tips and caught up with ex-UWAFT members. A big thank you to the EpCon organizers - UWAFT will be back next year, bigger and better!

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Virginia Tech Pushes it to Yuma

February 22, 2010 in Team Posts, Video Blogs by ggguest | 2 comments

The Virginia Tech EcoCAR team recently completed the first step in a multiphase integration process to create its hybrid vehicle design.  The HEVT team successfully installed its 2.4 L FlexFuel (85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline) engine.  The team also installed a transmission into the vehicle that will allow for a quick launch after the engine has been off.

“HEVT is off to a good start, but the team has several big projects to tackle in the next six months before heading to competition,” said Patrick Walsh, a graduate research assistant from Richmond, VA.

In the next few weeks, the team will be building its battery pack with modules and controllers donated by A123Systems, installing its rear electric motor with a custom subframe built by TriFab, and installing its Hybrid Vehicle Supervisory Controller provided by National Instruments.  Check back to the blog for a video of Virginia Tech’s completed vehicle, but for now here’s a teaser off what it takes to do a engine swap!

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Mentor Monday: EcoCAR Student Turned Mentor Helps Teams with HIL and SIL

February 22, 2010 in Uncategorized by ggguest | No comments

This week, we are featuring a mentor from National Instruments (NI), another EcoCAR platinum sponsor! National Instruments is providing Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) support to 9 of the 17 EcoCAR teams. Two of the teams, Embry-Riddle and Virginia Tech, are also are using National Instruments’ Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) solution for their projects.

Stephen Barrett is a systems engineer at National Instruments where he provides engineering support services that include: pre-sales concept development, benchmarking, on-site training and consulting, and creating software add-on components for NI’s real-time testing platform. Stephen is a former member of the Texas Tech University Challenge X team and has been assisting the EcoCAR teams since the competition kick-off in 2008.

“I really enjoy participating in the EcoCAR program as a mentor. I’ve been able to leverage my successes and failures as a student and my real-world experiences to better advise the teams. The applications the teams are using are quite challenging and it’s been rewarding to see how quickly they apply the right tools and technologies to solve problems.”

Stephen Barrett as a student on the Texas Tech Challenge X team in 2008

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Local Public Official Lends Support to WVU EcoCAR Team at Outreach Event

February 19, 2010 in Team Posts by ggguest | No comments

The WVU EcoCAR team recently received support from a local public official at one of its K-12 outreach events.  Team members Cate Mihelic, Marilyn McCarthy and Andrew Blazek were invited to give a presentation on the EcoCAR Challenge to 120 fifth and sixth-grade students at East Park Elementary School in Fairmont, West Virginia.

The WVU team was very excited to have the support of Fairmont City Manager, Jay Rogers, at the event.  Mr. Rogers was happy to learn about West Virginia University’s involvement in the EcoCAR competition and thanked the team for talking about their project to the students of Fairmont.

“We talked to the students about how important it is to study math and science and the hands-on learning opportunities that the EcoCAR Challenge gives college students,” said Mihelic, a WVU outreach team member. “ The event was also special because Mr. Rogers was really interested in our message and offered us his support as we progress through the competition.”

WVU team members have been participating in various K-12 outreach events around the state of West Virginia to educate young people about the opportunities they have to work towards a greener future.

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Unveiling…the New and Improved Green Garage Site!

February 19, 2010 in EcoCAR News by ggguest | No comments

We are excited to announce that we have updated the EcoCAR Green Garage site! We have made changes to the site to make it more user friendly and to provide additional content about the student teams and the architecture designs.

A few new features to note:

  • A ticker has been added to the bottom of the homepage with the three most recent posts from the Inside the Green Garage blog
  • The Designs page has been updated to highlight the four primary designs with new icons
  • Each design icon links to a sub-page with a definition of the architecture and a list of schools using the respective technology
  • The Teams page now includes a brief description of the teams’ architectures and links to both the university and team Web sites

When you have a minute, take a look and let us know your thoughts! We’d love the feedback!

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