Competing against teams from Georgia Tech, Michigan and Princeton, UVM’s Alternative Energy Racing Organization (AERO) once again delivered at the IEEE/SAE Formula Hybrid International Competition (FHIC) that took place this spring at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. For 2016, the team won the IEEE Excellence in Electric Vehicle Engineering Award, placed 2nd in the Electric Vehicle Division, and 3rd overall behind the University of Victoria and SUNY-Binghamton.

However the road to success was far from a straightaway. After working for 18 months on a hybrid (gas+electric) vehicle, GreenSpeed 4, the team hit a wall with the car’s three electric motor controllers. “About two months before competition, we decided to start from scratch and build an all-new, all-electric car, CleanSpeed 2,” says Emily Bolt (CE ’17). The decision invigorated the group. “The atmosphere around the shop became the most productive I have ever seen,” she said. The build required the team to create all new subsystems including chassis, suspension, battery and vehicle controls.

Alex Raff (ME ’17) says "We did what no one thought was possible, we built an electric car in six weeks. A car which not only works, but broke the FHIC endurance record." In fact, CleanSpeed 2 was the first car in the 10-year competition’s history to fully complete the 44-lap endurance event.

AERO broke another record off the track. All drivers for the competition must demonstrate that they can exit their vehicle in less than 5 seconds. AERO’s Greg Castaldi (ME ’17) smashed the existing record with an egress time of 1.82 seconds.

Neil Holman (Community Entrepreneurship ’18) says, "The past six weeks has been a fast-paced learning experience for many; however it shows the capabilities of all the team members as well as the UVM engineering school. I'm very proud to have been a part of it."

Says Bolt, “I'm very proud of the team and I think this is exactly the springboard we need to move forward with the club and excite the new members.” 

“Once again, UVM has shown it can hold its own against the biggest engineering schools along with some private ivies,” says AERO’s advisor Dr. Jeff Frolik.

PUBLISHED

05-13-2016
UVM CEMS