Student-built vehicles take center stage

OSU student working on the Mars Rover Friends of OSU Engineering were invited to see a trio of fascinating and acclaimed vehicles, and to meet the students who built them, at an April 27 event at the downtown OSU Portland Center.

The Formula car, built by the OSU Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), swept a prestigious competition last summer in Austria against a field that included three of the top 10 teams in the world. OSU won the business presentation, autocross and endurance challenges, and placed first overall.

The Baja SAE car team won two major competitions last summer, too, beating competitors from more than 100 other domestic and international universities and earning de facto world champion status in the process. This was the team’s second top place national finish in four years. The off-road vehicle has been prominently featured in OSU television advertising.

Robotics Club vehicles also have done well in national competition in recent years, including winning the 2008 University Rover Challenge at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. The small, futuristic Mars Rover (shown here with electrical and computer engineering student Ben Porter) is designed for rough terrain, with soft, balloon-like tires and ultra lightweight composition.

Robert Paasch, holder of the Boeing Professorship in Mechanical Engineering, has served as the SAE club advisor since 2000. Students from a variety of majors participate in the three competitions, and Paasch noted that the project management and teamwork skills they learn are highly valued by many companies, frequently leading to job offers.

Scholarships make it possible for many students to take part in these experiential learning programs. Porter, for example, is a recipient of the Richard Earnheart Scholarship plus a Hal & Bev Brown Scholarship (read about this scholarship in the Spring 2010 Oregon Stater). Robotics Club president Ryan Albright has received the Theodore Ritter Scholarship, SAE president Hilary Shoop received the Milton C. Sheely Memorial Scholarship, Formula co-captain Trevor Takaro received the George & Evelyn Lundstrom Scholarship, and Baja co-captain Ole Bond received the Henry W. & Janice J. Schuette Presidential Scholarship.

UPDATE: In June the Mars Rover team won the 2010 University Rover Challenge.

UPDATE: In May the Global Formula Racing team — an international collaboration between OSU and a group in Germany — won the 2010 Formula SAE national championship in collegiate car racing.

Learn More

KGW story about the event, with video showing the Mars Rover in action plus interviews with student leaders

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