The members of Thayer Engineering School at Dartmouth have made a strong stand in competition against larger engineering schools. The Big Green finished 7th in the Formula SAE racing event and competition this past week against 124 other schools from around the globe.
The teams compete in a variety of events, some dynamic and some static. The static events include design (judged by industry professionals on methodology and overall vehicle design), cost (based on total reported cost and thought of design) and presentation, which is determined after team members give judges a presentation as if they were trying to sell the vehicle.
In the static events, Dartmouth picked up top 10 marks in presentation and cost, finishing seventh and eighth respectively. The Big Green picked up only 80 out of 150 points for a 30th place spot in the design category.
After the static events, Dartmouth sat in 27th place behind fellow Ivies Cornell (4th) and Brown (16th). The Ecole de technologie superieure, RIT and the University of Waterloo held the top three slots.
Next up were the dynamic events which consisted of a cornering test and a series of races. The Big Green struggled in the acceleration competition which is nothing more than a drag race.
In the 75-point category, which was won by Ohio State, Dartmouth finished a mere 39th with only 39.32 points. RIT finished second in the event to grab the overall lead while EDTS got zero points for the event, dealing them a crushing blow.
The cornering test was up next and the Big Green had considerably more success picking up 6th in the 50-point event won by Cornell. Dartmouth had moved up to 16th after the event while Cornell pulled itself into second behind RIT with Ohio State third.
Next up for the engineers was the single lap Autocross race. Dartmouth had another tough race finishing 26th to slide down two slots in the overall rankings. Cornell won the race to grab the lead as RIT fell to fifth with a 23rd place ranking.
Last on the schedule was the endurance race. This was a 25-lap race with softer turns than the autocross designed to test driver skill and stamina.
Combined with the endurance race was a fuel economy test which made the entire event worth 350 points and the most important in the entire race.
With captain Chuck Horrell and Aaron Buck in the car for the race, Dartmouth picked up its first top five finish of the day with a fifth place spot. The 333.31 points vaulted the Big Green to 7th place overall.
Cornell won the endurance race as well to take home first place in the competition while the University of Missouri"Columbia and Ohio State finished second and third. RIT took home no points in the endurance race to fall to 24th.
EDTS led the international contingent finishing sixth while Waterloo grabbed ninth and the University of Leeds finished 14th.
Joining Horrell and Buck on Dartmouth's squad were Aman Khapoya, Jim Bailey, Jordan Desroches, Jason Rathbone, Fredrik Eliasson, David Lidhagen, Rich Dickinson and Fred Deschamps. The team members split the responsibilities of design and building while Khapoya, Buck and Horrell did the competition driving.
"We are particularly proud of [finishing seventh] considering that most of the teams we compete against have much larger engineering programs and therefore more manpower, more funding and more experience. It shows that the dedication and drive of a small group of motivated and talented individuals can overcome a lot and compete with some of the largest engineering programs in the country," said Horrell.
