Engineering technology students are preparing cars that are friendly to the environment for next year’s Shell Eco-Marathon, despite a bumpy entrance into the competition.
Engineering technology instructional associate professor Raresh Pascali led engineering seniors to build eco-friendly cars to enter in national contests.
‘The team was tasked to research, design, build and test a car capable of achieving 4,000 miles per gallon,’ Pascali said.
Last April was the second time UH students entered the Shell Eco-Marathon in Fontana, Cali., but they were unable to meet their goal.
‘Unfortunately we were unable to place in both events,’ former team member and alumnus James Smith said. ‘We passed the inspection phases for each, but as far as competing, we had some freak circumstances that prevented us from putting numbers up.’
Despite the disappointing result, people started paying attention when the only team from Texas showed up to test themselves again. Next year, Shell will move the contest to Houston for the first time.
‘Besides being featured on the front page of the Houston Chronicle, they were selected by Shell to follow their progress through a flip camera. The footage (was) to be used in a documentary to be aired on PBS,’ Pascali said.
Aside from all the recognition, former team member and alumnus James Marbach enjoyed his experience.
‘From competing in this contest, I was able to practice a lot of what I have learned in the classroom over the past four years and apply it to this project,’ Marbach said. ‘It highlighted my strengths as well as my weaknesses, and allowed me to challenge myself to overcome many obstacles.’
Teams from institutions such as Purdue University, which has competed for years, have the advantage of experience.
Although UH lacks exposure, former team members realize support is essential to progressing in the competition.
‘My team and I learned a lot over these past two semesters and plan on staying in touch with the upcoming group to give them pointers and lead them in the right direction,’ Marbach said.
Engineering senior Nathan Davis hopes past team members will provide excellent insight.
‘We are definitely looking to past students for guidance,’ Davis said. ‘I think their advice and support is going to play a crucial role in our success.’
The 2010 team will have previous designs to study, but are expected to come up with a new vehicle.
A home field advantage will streamline costs, but Davis understands the rigors of the assignment ahead.
‘We are still in the very early design phase though, so it will be interesting to see what we come up with eight months from now,’ Davis said.
After previous disappointments, Davis and UH are remaining modest when asked about their expectations.
‘How high we get will only be determined by the hard work that we put into the project between now and then, and probably a little bit of luck,’ he said.
