Ohio State team nabs victory in EcoCAR 3 competition

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Ohio State University’s EcoCAR 3 team won its third consecutive EcoCAR 3–Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition Thursday night.

EcoCAR 3 is a four-year collegiate automotive engineering competition that challenges 16 universities across North America to redesign a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro, improving its efficiency and emissions while retaining the iconic Camaro performance value.

Courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy.

With the win, the Buckeyes stretched their three-year winning streak to four years, having come in first in the final year of the EcoCAR 2: Plugging In To The Future competition and the first two years of EcoCAR 3.

“They’re the best prepared team that I’ve brought to an EcoCAR competition,” faculty advisor Shawn Midlam-Mohler said. “They set the stage for a great competition by putting over 2,000 miles on the car prior to coming, and gave so much of their time to the competition.”

The team was recognized for its outstanding performance across all events of the competition, taking home 15 awards overall.

“I’m extremely proud of all the talented people on the team and the hard work they gave to the project,” team leader and engineering manager Andrew Huster said. “It’s been an honor to be the team leader. And it’s great to finish up my EcoCAR experience with a win.”

Ohio State’s crew placed first in 11 of the 15 awards they won, and will be taking home over $20,000 in award money.

“It was awesome winning the Best Project Status Presentation and First-Place Project Management award,” project manager and recent graduate Nick Tomczak said. “It’s been really great to have a team behind me who supported me and worked diligently to produce a reliable vehicle.”

Year Three might have just ended, but the team is already looking forward to Year Four, the final year of the competition. Brandon Bishop, a first-year master’s student majoring in mechanical engineering, will be stepping up into the team leader/engineering manager role next year. Third-year Katie Yatsko will serve as project manager.

“I’m really glad to step into a higher leadership role and looking forward to continuing our tradition of excellence,” Bishop said. “Everyone is so great to work with and coming off a win, everyone is going to be really motivated to keep it going and will be working hard all year long.”

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Georgia Institute of Technology took second and third place in the competition, respectively.

The primary sponsors of the EcoCAR 3 competition are the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors.

The Ohio State EcoCAR sponsors include TE Connectivity; Johnson Controls; Ford; Honda; DENSO North American Foundation; Fastenal; Cooper Tire and Rubber; Clean Fuels Ohio; Earth Day Coalition; Ganley Chevrolet; and Auto Smarts Radio.

To learn more about the EcoCAR 3 program, visit www.ecocar3.org. More information about Ohio State’s EcoCAR 3 program is also available online: http://ecocar.osu.edu.