Take a gray Saturn Vue, help from students, local and national sponsorships, simulators and many man-hours and turn it into another first-place win for a vehicle called EcoCAR.  

 

That is the goal for students and advisers working toward the creation of a more energy-efficient vehicle on Ohio State’s campus. 

 

EcoCAR is a hybrid car created by the OSU Center for Automotive Research. 

A table in the reception area at the center is proof that students’ hard work on the project can pay off. The table is loaded with awards that include a first-place finish overall for the OSU team at a competition between 17 universities during the past year. The competition concluded in Canada during the summer. 

 

Last week, the OSU EcoCAR team received the GM stock car they will turn into a more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly vehicle in the final two years of the competition. They will use state-of-the-art technology to accomplish the task.   

 

There are benefits in addition to the recent awards.

 

“You really have to have something like this if you want to get a good job,” said Shawn Midlam-Mohler, research scientist at the center and co-adviser of the team. The experience can “slingshot a career,” he said. Midlam-Mohler has been involved in similar projects at OSU as a student.  

 

Students involved in the effort are working alongside industry sponsors, which is a great recruitment tool after graduation, said Beth Bezaire, one of the team leaders and a graduate fellow majoring in mechanical engineering. 

 

The hands-on experience is key, Bezaire said.  

 

Outreach to youth in grades K through 12 is also important, and one of the major goals is to train the next generation of professionals going out to work in the industry, Bezaire said. 

 

Many challenges also exist.  

 

“Getting the equipment we need to build what they are designing” is one problem, Midlam-Mohler said. 

 

Another is “the design we are doing – trying to balance the risk versus the potential of the design,” she said.

 

Bezaire has had other challenges.

 

“An initial challenge was helping us meld into a cohesive team,” Bezaire said. Another challenge is to “effectively manage the team.”    

 

In addition, a power train has to be replaced in the stock vehicle by March, and the second year of the competition concludes in May.  

 

Volunteers are welcome to help out from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays at the center on Kinnear Road. Contact Beth Bezaire for more information at [email protected].