“Year One of EcoCAR is all about generating big ideas and developing a strategy for the remainder of the competition,” Acting Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Alejandro Moreno said in a public statement. “These students are already demonstrating the capacity and drive needed to pursue careers in the EV sector and become trailblazers in the mobility industry.”… According to the news release, OSU’s team set out for the first time to establish a collaborative partnership with another university, and their work with Wilberforce students earned them 10 first-place finishes in 12 judged categories. The team will now take home $10,000 in prize money from industry sponsors. In Year Two of the competition, the news release said, student teams will be tasked with re-engineering the Cadillac LYRIQ to add energy-efficient features that further reduce carbon emissions.
OSU’s EcoCar team is an excellent way for students interested in the electric vehicle field to have an early start on learning the ins and outs of the trade while working on fundamental engineering, design, and teambuilding skills. They were showing off one of their cars at the involvement fair this year, and I had a great discussion with the team on where to get started on my own path of researching electric vehicle optimizations. I plan on continuing my contact with the group and hoping they can be a good research for EV related questions and topics later along in my research and prototyping.
