Issue Seven - Conversations on Technology, Business and Society

Student Corner
High School students build
super-effecient electric cars
For a group of very unassuming Kansas
teenagers the year had a rather
interesting twist to it. They took on a
daunting challengeuncommon to peers of
their age group. With the help and directive
of seasoned professionals, these youngsters
worked long and hard on this
seemingly too lofty a project.
Well luck stroke, and needless
to say the pay off was quite
astounding – a 307-mpg(miles
per gallon) electric car for
which they are now petitioning
a position in the highly coveted
Guinness Book of Records. The
most intriguing question is just
how exactly they were able to
pull off such a gargantuan yet
intricate task.
It all started with the introduction
of a new course at
DeLasalle High school in Kansas
MI. Thanks to this AUTO-
MOTIVE DESIGN STUDIO class,
DeLasalle has rapidly become a household
name among young automotive enthusiasts.
The objective of the class: “ to give the
students the tools to process creative thinking,
see the potential for realizing dreams
for a successful future and instill a greater
desire to learn in the students” explained
their leading instructor and mentor, Steve
Reese.
There was no better person to handle the
admirable task of mentoring the next generation
of visionary automotive engineers
than Steve Reese. As a retired architect
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and car racer, his unique combination of
architectural techniques, engineering savvy
and years of experience proved invaluable
in mentoring the young people. As every
potent leader would have it he brought in
other capable professionals who mentored
the young men one-on-one. This helped
with providing attention in particular areas
of need but also instilled the much needed
sense of professionalism in the budding
engineers.
The move from blue print to building
was where the real test stood. The team
was able to salvage the chassis of a crashed
2000 Lolaracecar, which they used as the
foundation of their design. With quite some
work, they were able to mount on up to 5
gears and an engine powered by 20 batteries,
which provided a solid 120 Volt of
John Shu
power. Intriguingly the bodywork proved to
be their hardest stage of the design. In the
interest of fuel efficiency it was paramount
that they used as lightweight a material
as they could lay hands on. They liberally
tried several materials to the point of
experimenting with spandex. Spandex didn’t
really do much for them, as they continually
had to fix rips and tears. At the end of
the day carbon fiber stood out both for its
featherweight and outstanding resilience.
Regal plastics produced a very appealing
transparent aerodynamic cage under which
their structure sat. The transparent cage
made things more interesting during testing
as one could see all the mechanics in action.
As you would expect, such feats of engineering
by relatively tender minds did not
go unnoticed. Support and funding started
to accrue from impressed organizations
such as Dodge, Ford, Wilwood engineering
and many others. Bridgestone Tires Company
apparently was the most impressed
as they not only donated patterned tires
for this aerodynamic, electronic propulsion
driveline system. They also generously
opened up their famed 7.7-mile
lap Bridge Stone Proving Grounds
in Texas for the testing stage. Not
only did the car achieve beyond
expectation but from empirical
results the team is finding new
ways to improve its performance
and step it up from a modest 42
mph (mile per hour) top speed.
Recollecting everything you
have to wonder if these talents
are particular to only the now
esteemed students of DeLasalle.
If not, then the question of how
projects like this can be integrated
in school curriculums arises. As
with the case of DeLasalle, this
project clearly was a resounding
success and consequentially encouraged
most of the team members to enroll in the
university and pursue a career in engineering;
which University wouldn’t want them?
All it takes is a heart for the next generation
and a drive to give back. A project like
this may fulfill its targeted goal, but could
ultimately lead to companies taking interest
in the educational milieu and thus invest
towards their recruits and visionaries of
tomorrow.
SEPTEMEBER - OCTOBER 2010 | PC TECH
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