Mechanical engineering seniors from CU-Boulder placed second overall in this year's Shell Eco-Marathon, an annual competition challenging student teams from around the world to design, build, and test energy-efficient vehicles. The CU-Boulder team scored an impressive mileage record of 1,767 miles per gallon in the event.
Team members Jared Wampler, Joseph Gratcofsky, Jeff Vankeulen, Paul Sweazey, and Matthew Feddersen worked with faculty advisor Marcelo Bergquist and lab coordinator Greg Potts on the project.
The annual Shell Eco-Marathon of the Americas was held March 29-April 1 in Houston, Texas. A total of 122 teams from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and South America competed in the gas prototype class in this year's event.
Potts said the CU engineering team implemented an electronic fuel injection system this year, which uses a National Instruments board for control: "Pretty impressive that a group of our students developed what takes major auto manufacturers years to do," he said.
CU has competed in the Eco-Marathon of the Americas for the last five years, and placed seventh in the 2011 event. >See full results
After a two-year hiatus, a dozen students in civil, environmental, and architectural engineering entered the Steel Bridge Competition sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The students, who worked all year to fundraise, design, acquire material, and fabricate their entry, placed seventh overall and first in display in the Rocky Mountain regional competition held at the University of Wyoming during Spring Break.
