Texas A&M Racing Team Prepares to Defend National Title
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — They won first place in the Formula-style SAE competition last year, and now members of the Texas A&M University’s mechanical engineering racing team say they are ready for this year’s Collegiate Design Competition, sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers.
Chancellor John Sharp recently visited the team. View a video of the conversation here: https://chancellor.tamus.edu/videos
“The competition gets judged on the design, the application and how well the machines work,” said Yuval Doron, the team’s adviser.
In June, the engineering students will be testing their craftsmanship in Lincoln, Nebraska, competing with over 500 teams from universities around the world.
At a cost of about $50,000, with a top speed of 75 miles per hour, this year’s Formula-style SAE racing car from the Texas A&M team will have to outperform last year’s.
“We learned how a car works, how it runs. Then some of our team came up with ideas: if we simulate our engine next to the driver or behind the driver, how does that change the dynamic characteristics?” explained Spencer Weaver, student project manager.
Chancellor Sharp praised the efforts of the students, stressing how courses that include hands-on experience help them secure jobs.
“Automobile companies come down to judge the competition, and it’s actually an interview,” he said.
Team members: Spencer Weaver (Project Manager), Mario Heredia, Ross Curran, Jadha Gunawan, Kaitlyn Mulkey, Brendan Cooper, Shane Costello, Wyatt Mountain, Zachary Roeder, Milan Pandya, Seth Burkhalter, James Compton, Logan Hanzel, Albert Rodriguez, Segun Tytler, Kevin Campbell, Zach Beck, Adam Isaacks, Gill Lipton, Zachary Masse, Siddhant Rebba, Sarah Rohmer.
Drivers: Christopher Fleming, Michael Ilavia, Gill Lipton, Brad Patlovany, Nicholas Sims.
About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $4.7 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities and seven state agencies, the Texas A&M System educates more than 152,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $972 million in FY 2016 and helped drive the state’s economy.
Contact: Laylan Copelin
Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications
(979) 458-6425
(512) 289-2782 cell
lcopelin@tamus.edu