Diversity, A Wayne State EcoCAR 2 Ideal

The Motor City is a distinctive community filled with rich history and culture. So it makes sense that Wayne State University’s EcoCAR 2 Team has entered the competition with a commitment to diversity. The school has attracted students from around the world, giving the team access to an eclectic group of individuals.

 WSU proudly highlights students who bring their talents and ideas from their homelands.

Rahul Harish hails from Trivandrum, India and serves as the Mechanical Team leader. He earned a B.S in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kerala and is now going after a Master of Science in Alternative Energy Technology. Rahul wants to focus on cars for the future and enjoys the unique experience the EcoCAR 2 challenge has given him.  

He said, “It’s hands on and readies you for work in the industry. The learning involved sets you apart from others.” He enjoys traveling and photography. Being an ardent foodie, he makes time every weekend to check out new joints in and around the city.

Fortunately, the team was able to carry this theme through its sponsorship efforts as well and would like to give a shout out to its donors. Big thanks go out to Aurora, IAV, SPX, Remy, RMS and Delphi. These companies are making it possible for the team to continue its pursuit to educate Detroit in sustainability.

WSU EcoCAR 2 Team Visits Pulaski School

Detroit’s Pulaski Middle School welcomed the Wayne State EcoCAR 2 Outreach Team to visit with students and educate them on the importance of ecologically-friendly vehicles.

            A representative from the Detroit Clean Cities Coalition, Mary Sell joined Outreach members Jessie LeTarte, Catherine Mitchell, and Jeffrey Rednour on March 14 for a day of interactive education with the sixth through eighth grade students.

            “I really enjoyed the event. The Wayne State University Team devised and executed a plan to educate the students on hybrid cars,” said Linda Howard, Literacy Coach at Pulaski. “This was an excellent learning experience for the students at Pulaski Elementary/Middle School and I would definitely invite Wayne State University back to the school again for future projects.

            The team visit included a brief presentation, and an activity that involved assembling an electric motor from a kit prepared by the Outreach team. Kevin Snyder, the team’s Chief Engineer provided the basic design, as well as funding the materials for 200 kits. The motors are composed of a cardboard base, a rubber band, 24 gauge wire, a copper wire coil, reisitors, and a AA battery.

            Unusually warm weather made it possible for Mary Sell to bring Clean Cities’ Chevrolet Volt electric car for the kids to see after the presentation and activity. The students were very interested in how the Volt works, and were excited by the vehicle and its technology.

            Functioning as an extension of Wayne State, the Outreach Team will to continue to provide educational activities in the City of Detroit through the public schools, at WSU and at community events.

Report 4 Update

The engineering team of Wayne State's EcoCAR 2 team has not been idle. For the past few months our young engineers have been focusing on getting the necessary reports written accurately and on time.  One engineer, Mengjia Cao, related her experience writing the assembly manual for the Assembly and Serviceability section in Report 4.

"When I received this task, the idea of assembling a battery pack on my mind was as simple as 3 steps: first open the door, then put the battery in, and close the door. But, it came out with 48 steps on 22 pages."

For Cao, most of her knowledge of battery packs comes from 3D models, and pictures. By looking at still photos one by one and listening to dictation the whole process plays like a movie.

The EcoCAR 2 competition gives engineering students like Cao access to the key technology in electric and hybrid vehicles. Thanks to the tireless work from students on Report 4 we were able to present a knowledgeable and professional report for the judges. We are now one more step closer to winning the EcoCAR 2 competition.

Our Dedication to Diversity

Detroit, Michigan is known for being the home of many things: the automotive industry, innovation, and diversity are among the first to come to mind. With that being said, the newly assembled Wayne State University EcoCAR 2 team is relying heavily on these three things as we prepare for this competition. The culture of our team is reliant upon the perfect combination of these three functions.

Let’s take a deeper look at the role that each function will play. Naturally, since the EcoCAR 2 project is an automotive engineering challenge, cars will be the main focus of our team. 

Innovation is key, as the engineers will be tasked with making modifications to the standard gas burning engine the Chevy Malibu is currently equipped with. 

The last and perhaps the most important function of our team that sets us apart is diversity. The WSU EcoCAR 2 team is very diverse. We have team members that represent 8 different countries: China, India, Egypt, Nigeria and Israel- just to name a few. Additionally, involvement from our female counterparts also demonstrates our diversity as a team. It’s our belief that, in the same way many cultures represented our host city of Detroit to work together for the greater good of the city, that we too will be able to utilize our diversity to accomplish much of the same.

We will rely heavily on the auto industry, diversity and innovation as we AIM HIGHER. AIM HYBRID!

Aim Higher – Aim Hybrid

It can be said that the city of Detroit has taken the Cinderella story to an entirely new level.

First, the auto industry tanked and now General Motors is, again, the leading car manufacturer in the world. Then the Detroit Lions, who were 0 – 16 in 2008, made it to the playoffs. Down the road, Wayne State University’s football team was making a very similar comeback by taking themselves to the Division II National Championship game.

These are all great examples of the city’s determination and WSU’s EcoCAR 2 Team is getting in on the action.

WSU’s marketing campaign “Aim Higher” was designed to define Wayne State and set it apart from other universities. The slogan is meant to represent opportunity, success and confidence which flow well with all that the City of Detroit is achieving. After its launch in 2008 it is still an icon of the university’s image and remains heavily endorsed.

The EcoCAR 2 Team decided on an addition to that slogan and logo which will set the standard high for the competition. “Aim Hybrid” was recently approved by the university’s Marketing Advisory Council, who were the brains behind the Aim Higher campaign. The logo uses an electrical cord to replace the “y” in “Hybrid” and lets the image speak for itself.

The goal of the Aim Hybrid campaign is not just to win a competition, but to make a legitimate difference in what people drive. Both the engineering and the outreach team will strive to create the best fuel efficient car and change people’s attitudes about an eco-friendly lifestyle. The team will visit classrooms in the Detroit Public Schools and create other educational events to make this happen.