Wayne State Formula SAE, EcoCAR 2 teams gear up for North American International Auto Show and upcoming competitions

DETROIT (Jan. 13, 2014) - Members of the Wayne State University Formula SAE (FSAE) and EcoCAR 2 teams will be featured at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) this month at COBO Center in Detroit. The booths will showcase their vehicles and projects while promoting their teams and STEM education in Michigan.

	Formula SAE team
	EcoCAR 2 team

"We're thrilled to have a booth at the auto show this year. Having a booth provides our team with the opportunity to learn more about industry trends that are currently happening with various automakers," says Mohammed Kakli, mechanical engineering senior and chief technical officer of the FSAE team. "At the same time, it gives us the chance to show younger generations what we're doing as undergraduate or graduate students, and what's possible in engineering.

Added Idan Kovent, an alternative energy technology master's student and EcoCAR 2 team project manager, "We are excited for this wonderful opportunity. More than 30 of our members from engineering, communications and business will man our booth - living proof of the university and team's 'Aim Higher, Aim Hybrid' motto. This is another great real-world, hands-on opportunity the team offers its members."

Formula SAE
Founded in 1978, the SAE Collegiate Design Series challenges students to design, build and race small formula-style race cars. The cars are judged in static and dynamic events that include elements such as design, cost, potential vehicle marketing, acceleration, autocross (handling and speed) and endurance/fuel economy.

The Wayne State team, dubbed Warrior Racing, was formed in 2003 and has competed every year since 2004. This year's first competition will take place May 14 to17 at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Mich., followed by the Formula West competition, held June 18 to 21 in Lincoln, Neb.

In addition to preparing for the auto show, Warrior Racing has also worked throughout winter break to prepare this year's formula racing car, the RW8, for upcoming competition. Kristina Vujic, an economics doctoral student and team president, says that much progress has been made but there is still work to do.

"Some of the major items that still need to be completed before competition are manufacturing of suspension components, manufacturing of bodywork and significant time tuning/calibrating our engine," says Vujic. "We are about halfway through the process of completing RW8 and our target date of completion is March 1."

Because work on RW8 is ongoing, visitors to the FSAE booth will be able to take a close look at last year's car, the RW7. Additionally, visitors will be able watch video clips of the car in action, and learn about both the team and Wayne State's College of Engineering.

EcoCAR 2
EcoCAR 2: Plugging in to the Future Year Two Competition, sponsored by GM and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), is a three-year collegiate engineering competition and the only program of its kind. It gives students the opportunity to gain real-world, eco-friendly automotive engineering experience while striving to further improve the energy efficiency of an already highly efficient vehicle.

The Wayne State team - the only Michigan team competing out of 15 North American teams - headed to GM's Desert Proving Grounds in May 2013 to test its re-engineered 2013 Chevy Malibu in the Year Two Competition, placing eighth overall. The communication team took second place for Best Collaboration with a Clean Cities Coalition.

Up four spots from Year One, the team was pleased with the results but immediately re-focused on preparing for the Year Three Competition, which will take place in Milford, Mich. and Washington, D.C. in June 2014.

"Some of our priorities coming off of the Year Two Competition were to focus on optimizing our vehicle and giving it some game-changing advantages," Kovent says. "We've been working on a robust controls system, in-depth diagnostics, weight reduction and a new gear reducer design for our electric motor drive and we are very excited for its expected quiet operation."

He added, "Beyond that, our strategic goal is, and always has been, to get into EcoCAR 3."

FSAE and EcoCAR 2 are just two of the many opportunities the Wayne State College of Engineering provides its students to ensure they gain the experience, knowledge and background needed to excel upon graduation. Through its Five Pillars of Student Success, the college provides students with opportunities for experiential learning through co-ops and internships, hands-on learning, scholarships, and undergraduate research, as well as with opportunities to gain the global perspective that employers love.

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Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution of higher education offering 370 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 28,000 students. For more information about engineering at Wayne State University, visit engineering.wayne.edu.