Tesla probably need not worry too much, but a custom electric race car built by PNW engineering students finished seventh in the evGrandPrix Collegiate Championship.
The vehicle, constructed by the school’s chapter of the Eta Kappa Nu chapter of the honor society Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, competed against 20 other vehicles entered by students from Purdue system schools, Kettering University and Northwest State Community College.
“It wasn’t really a project until last semester and I worked with our advisors to bring this project back, I thought it’ll grow our organization,” said Anhviet Le, a senior majoring in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering, who heads the Eta Kappa Nu chapter.
“I was the President of both IEEE and IEEE Eta Kappa Nu …, [before] Kimani Jackson … stepped up last year and he’s been leading IEEE ever since,” he said. “Kimani’s guidance and leadership is responsible for a lot of what we are accomplishing.
The vehicle features innovative engineering solutions, including a custom-made battery pack designed to meet specific competition standards, all built by students.
The team’s participation in the evGrandPrix on April 13 was the result of four months of hard work. The effort paid off as PNW’s car secured the second fastest lap time and the third highest top speed at the competition. It also placed fourth overall in design.
However, technical difficulties led to an early retirement from the race.
“Our vehicle cut off after 30 to 32 laps,” said Le. “Next year, we will take what went wrong and we’re going to plan to bring it back.”
Looking forward to next year’s competition, Le is focused on refining the vehicle design and improving reliability. Le is optimistic about the future.
“Another regional campus [Purdue-Anderson] came back and won after not finishing well the previous year,” he said. “So we’re going to try to have the same comeback story. We learned a lot about the competition, what to change, and next year we’re hoping to come back better.”
