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Miss. State Challenge X team wins title |
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Wednesday, 28 May 2008 |
By PAUL SIMS
Starkville Daily News
Mississippi State University students will tackle a new challenge to shrink vehicle emissions and hike fuel efficiency this fall after the university received top honors in a similar competition two years in a row.
On May 21, organizers recognized the MSU team taking part in the Challenge X competition with first place honors from among 17 university teams from the United States and Canada.
For "Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainability," General Motors provided each of the teams a Chevrolet Equinox — which uses advanced power train technology — so they could redesign the vehicle to reduce emissions, improve fuel economy while retaining the driver's comfort and the vehicle's ability to perform, officials said in a release.
The MSU team developed what officials describe as a "through-the-road parallel hybrid electric vehicle" which gets its power from a 1.9L GM direct injection turbo diesel engine, which is fueled by B20 biodiesel. The MSU vehicle reached a 38 percent increase in fuel economy above the production vehicle on what was described as a modified urban test cycle.
"I want to congratulate this year’s Challenge X champion, Mississippi State University, and all of the other participants for their innovative designs and applications of advanced clean vehicle technologies," U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman said. "This competition is a unique demonstration of how tremendous technological advancements that are occurring at universities across North America can help us achieve a new energy future — one that is cleaner, more sustainable, more affordable, more secure and less reliant on carbon-based fossil fuels."
Dr. Vance Watson, interim president of MSU, reacted Wednesday to the award.
"We're thrilled for the students who worked so hard on this project, and for their faculty advisers. This national recognition is proof of what we already knew — Mississippi State students and programs can compete with any in the nation. Their Challenge X first-place honor has brought outstanding recognition to Mississippi State and to Mississippi."
Marshall Molen, DTI-Ergon distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering, the MSU faculty advisor for Challenge X and the lead for vehicle integration at the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems at MSU, shared his thoughts on the honor.
This is the 20th year U.S. Department of Energy and automakers have sponsored similar events, but it's the first time MSU has taken part, Molen said.
"It is highly unusual that a new team would take first place. We have competed with several excellent universities, many of whom have years of experience in the automotive field. MSU engineering students have long been recognized as excellent engineers but we haven’t had a history in the automotive field," he said. "This award says that our students have an outstanding foundation in engineering that allows them to excel in numerous fields. It also speaks to the work ethic of our students who are conditioned to do a professional job with attention to detail."
Officials provided a breakdown of Challenge X, which started in 2004, over the course of four years. The first year focused on testing, vehicle simulation, modeling and subsystem development. Participants worked their advanced powertrains and subsystems into the vehicle in years two and three.
In the fourth year, participants concentrated "on customer acceptability and over-the-road reliability and durability of their advanced propulsion systems with real-world evaluation outside of the laboratory and proving ground environments."
MSU earned top honors in Challenge X's third and fourth years, Molen said.
DOE and GM were headline sponsors of Challenge X with the following additional sponsors: Natural Resources Canada; The MathWorks; National Instruments; Freescale Semiconductor; AVL Powertrain Engineering, Inc.; National Science Foundation; Sensors, Inc.; Cobasys; Johnson Controls-SAFT Advanced Power Solutions; Ballard Power Systems, Inc.; Renewable Fuels Association; Caterpillar, Inc.; MotoTron Corporation; XM Radio, OnStar and Siemens PLM Software.
MSU plans to participate in "EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge" which will get started in the fall. It will direct university engineering students to design and develop advanced propulsion solutions based on the vehicle categories for zero emissions vehicle standards from the California Air Resources Board. GM and DOE are again among the headline sponsors for the EcoCAR competition.
The students taking part in EcoCAR will use a Saturn VUE as the original vehicle from which to work as they to make the vehicle more fuel efficient, reduce its greenhouse emissions while attempting to maintain its performance and appeal to consumers, organizers said.
Full-function electric, range-extended electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell technologies are among the technologies the competitors will explore, organizers said. Those involved in the EcoCAR competition from MSU anticipate they'll develop "a plug-in hybrid vehicle," Molen said.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 29 May 2008 )
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