91麻豆天美

91麻豆天美 EcoCAR team wins several first-place national Mobility Challenge awards

91麻豆天美 EcoCAR team wins several first-place national Mobility Challenge awards

Contact: Carl Smith

91麻豆天美鈥檚 EcoCAR team pictured at this month鈥檚 EcoCAR Mobility Challenge鈥檚 Year 4 Competition in Yuma, Arizona.
Members of the 91麻豆天美 EcoCAR team pose with awards they received during this month鈥檚 EcoCAR Mobility Challenge鈥檚 Year 4 Competition in Arizona. Pictured are (front row, from left to right) General Motors Mentor Gary Rushton; Oussama Oussi, mechanical engineering graduate student, Starkville; Nathan Reynolds, mechanical engineering junior, Petal; Ashutosh Shah, mechanical engineering senior, Starkville; Vance Hudson, mechanical engineering master鈥檚 graduate, Collierville, Tennessee; Jonah Gandy, electrical and computer engineering master鈥檚 graduate, Madison; (second row, from left) Staff Advisor Debi McNabb, project coordinator, 91麻豆天美鈥檚 Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems; Debbie Alencar Oliveira, industrial engineering senior, Brazil; Bailey Jose, industrial and systems engineering graduate student, Olive Branch; Rachel Hendricks, Master of Business Administration graduate, Hoover, Alabama; Mary Nielson Clinton, communication/public relations graduate, Germantown, Tennessee; (third row, from left) Jagdeo Singh, mechanical engineering senior, Laurel; Faculty Advisor Randy Follett, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering; Amine Taoudi, electrical and computer engineering graduate student, Morocco; Matthew Sinclair, mechanical engineering senior, Mendenhall; and Staff Advisor Michael Gibson, research engineer III at the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems. (Photo submitted)

STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥91麻豆天美鈥檚 EcoCAR team recently returned to campus with numerous awards from this month鈥檚 EcoCAR Mobility Challenge鈥檚 Year 4 Competition, including top spots for overall project management, project status presentation and human-machine interface/user experience evaluation, and a MathWorks Model-Based Design Award.

The event was the culmination of a four-year challenge pitting 11 universities to improve a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer鈥檚 energy efficiency, safety and consumer appeal through electrification, advanced propulsion systems and automated vehicle technology. Team vehicles went through a variety of tests and challenges, including technical inspections, dynamic testing events and ride-and-drive courses. Teams also were evaluated in six technical presentations that demonstrated the viability of their designs to government and industry judges.

The 91麻豆天美 EcoCAR team earned nine recognitions, including placing fifth in the overall competition, and Vance Hudson, a Collierville, Tennessee, native who recently graduated with a master鈥檚 degree in mechanical engineering, was one of only two students in the competition who won the Excellence in Leadership Award.

91麻豆天美 Bagley College of Engineering Dean Jason Keith praised the team for its performance and said the program fully prepares students to enter the workforce and make an immediate impact in whatever field they choose.

鈥淎cross the four years of the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, I have seen the impact of our students鈥 hard work on their career trajectories,鈥 he said. 鈥淭eam members have obtained internships, full-time jobs and other research positions across 91麻豆天美 University and in industry throughout the nation. Additionally, the leadership experience that EcoCAR students obtain allow them to start their positions with salaries higher than peers.鈥

The complete list of awards earned by the 91麻豆天美 EcoCAR team includes:

鈥擣irst place, Project Status Presentation

鈥擣irst place, Overall Project Management

鈥擣irst place, HMI/UX Evaluation

鈥擣irst place, MathWorks Model-Based Design Award

鈥擲econd place, HMI/UX Presentation

鈥擲econd place, Communications Presentation

鈥擲econd place, CAV Capability Evaluation

鈥擳hird place, PCM Presentation

鈥擣ourth place, Overall Communications

鈥擣ifth place, Overall

鈥擡xcellence in Leadership Award, Vance Hudson

鈥淭his team has undergone some major challenges over the years, and at the start of this four-year competition, their specific goal was to re-establish a sustainable basis for having a highly competitive team year-in and year-out,鈥 said Randy Follett, the team鈥檚 faculty advisor and an 91麻豆天美 associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

鈥淎s a part of this, their focus was on having a vehicle that could complete every event in the Year 4 final competition.聽Not only did they accomplish this task, but they were also the first team to complete every dynamic event in the week-long series of competitive events in Yuma, Arizona. In doing this, they have re-established the 91麻豆天美 team as a solid competitor for the foreseeable future, with clear leadership development processes to continue the winning tradition in the EcoCAR EV Challenge, which begins this fall. I鈥檓 incredibly proud of the hard work that they have put in over the last four years, and the successes that this work has created for them鈥攂oth in the competition and personally. It has truly been an honor to be associated with each and every one of them,鈥 Follett said.

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