SEATTLE, June 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S.
Department of Energy and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) announced
The Ohio State University as the
overall winning team for Year One of the EcoCAR
3 competition, a four-year collegiate engineering program
that gives students the chance to design, build, and demonstrate
cutting-edge, eco-friendly automotive technologies in the all-new
2016 Chevrolet Camaro.
The Ohio State has shown all-around
excellence in Year One, demonstrating a highly mature software
development process, and as a result received a trophy,
$10,000 and repeat winner bragging
rights. The team earned a total of 937 points out of 1,000
and also took first place in the Communications and Project
Management categories. Judges were impressed by their efforts
in identifying a target market for their vehicle and branding
strategy, including a memorable tagline: "Classic.Recharged."
"This year really lays the foundation for vehicle development,
which is a critical step in the process for future success,"
said M.J. Yatsko, The Ohio State University Engineering Manager. "We have
already begun vehicle dynamic analysis for next year and are
excited to share some of our innovative features we plan to
integrate into our vehicle."
The competing 16 North American university teams gathered in
Seattle for several days of judged
competition. Throughout the events, teams put their designs to the
test, giving presentations to industry and government professionals
based on their mechanical, electrical, control strategies, project
initiation approval, outreach, project management, trade show
display, and innovation topics.
"EcoCAR plays a valuable role in the Department's mission to
develop and deploy advanced vehicle technologies that reduce
emissions and increase efficiency, helping our planet and
pocketbooks at the same time," said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. "We look forward to seeing how the
science and engineering workforce of tomorrow will tackle the
challenge of creating clean and safe transportation in new and
innovative ways."
The first year of EcoCAR 3 emphasized the use of
math-based design tools and simulation techniques for designing a
successful vehicle architecture that reduces energy consumption,
well-to-wheel greenhouse gas emissions and tailpipe emissions. Each
team will receive their 2016 Camaro this fall. In years two, three
and four, students will rebuild the vehicle based on their new
architecture and continue to refine, test and improve the vehicle's
operation.
"Without having the full picture of the attributes of the new
2016 Camaro, the students from The Ohio State
University were able to develop a strategy that can turn
this high-performance vehicle into a cutting-edge, eco-friendly
alternative," said Al Oppenheiser,
Chevrolet Camaro Vehicle Chief Engineer. "Not only does the 2016
Camaro's leaner, stiffer platform provide an optimal base vehicle
for these students to achieve their powertrain goals, the exterior
of the vehicle was designed to specifically enhance
efficiency."
Virginia Tech and the University of Waterloo took second and third place
respectively.
Established by DOE and GM, and managed by Argonne National
Laboratory, EcoCAR 3 is the latest Advanced Vehicle
Technology Competition (AVTC) aimed at developing the next
generation of automotive leaders. The four-year program concludes
summer 2018.
Additional sponsors joining the DOE and GM include the following:
MathWorks, California Air Resources Board, Freescale, Clean Cities,
AVL Powertrain Engineering, Robert
Bosch, LLC, ETAS, PACCAR, dSPACE, Snap-On, Siemens PLM
Software, GKN Driveline, Transportation Research Center, Denso,
Champlain Cable, Woodward, Proterra, Ricardo, Mentor Graphics, New
Eagle, Tesa Tape, Vector, Delphi,
EcoMotors, EPRI, A123 Systems, and Flextronics.
EcoCAR 3 sponsors have provided more than $718 million in software, hardware and cash
donations to the 16 participating universities in just the first
year. The majority of this contribution is software, stressing the
design emphasis of the program's first year.
For more information about the student engineering program, the
participating schools or the competition sponsors, please visit
EcoCAR.org or EcoCAR Photos.
About EcoCAR 3
EcoCAR 3 is a four-year
collegiate engineering program that builds on the successful
26-year history of Department of Energy (DOE) advanced vehicle
technology competitions (AVTC) by giving engineering students the
chance to design and build advanced vehicles that demonstrate
leading-edge, eco-friendly automotive technologies. General Motors
provides each of the 16 competing teams with a 2016 Chevrolet
Camaro, as well as vehicle components, seed money, technical
mentoring and operational support. The DOE and its research and
development facility, Argonne National Laboratory, provide
competition management, team evaluation and logistical support.
Through this important public/private partnership, EcoCAR 3
provides invaluable experience and training to promising young
minds entering the North American job market. EcoCAR 3
follows the widely acclaimed competition series EcoCAR 2:
Plugging In to the Future.
Related Links
EcoCAR 3 Website
Video - http://youtu.be/I5H4s_5DMC4
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150605/221088
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150605/221089LOGO
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SOURCE Argonne National Laboratory