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SAE Supermileage Team Excels at Competition

The 2014 SAE Supermileage competition marked the School of Engineering’s first year of competition. The SAE Supermileage competition provides engineering and technology students with a challenging design project that involves the development and construction of a single-person, fuel-efficient vehicle. Five students,  Jason Charne (’14), Paige Corvino (’14), Chris Golon (’14), JJ Heindel (’14), and Matt Southard (’14)  competed as part of their Senior Project. The team was advised by faculty members Dr. Norman Asper,  Dr. Manish Paliwal, Dr. Lisa Grega, Dr. George Facas,  and Professor Bijan Sepahpour.

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The team developed the entirety of their design, built the vehicle, and tested the vehicle within the 2013-2014 academic year. At the competition, the team performed exceedingly well for a first year team, particularly for a team in their first year attending the competition. The team’s vehicle was a three-wheeler with a 6061-T6 aluminum frame covered by a transparent polycarbonate fairing. A two-stage chain drive converted the engine power to rear-wheel-drive rotation.

At the competition, the team garnered multiple awards. The team placed 3rd in the design report &presentation category and was praised for doing so as a newcomer. The team was one of a few teams who were able to pass technical inspection on their first attempt. The team achieved a maximum of 245 MPG and 4 successful runs during the endurance competition. The vehicle was one of few that did not encounter any breakdowns on the course. In addition, the team received 2nd place in the newcomer catagory, 14th overall, and was published by SAE in their feature article on the competition (http://articles.sae.org/13261/).

The School of Engineering is very proud of the achievement of its students, who displayed great engineering skill and professionalism at the competition.

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