Penn State Team Heads to L.A. for Eco-CAR Competition

When a dozen Penn Staters touch down in Los Angeles Thursday, they won’t be heading for a swimming pool or to see movie stars – they’re going to build an eco-friendly car.

The Penn State Advanced Vehicle Team is one of only 14 teams in North America competing in the EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future competition. It lasts the entire week, from May 17-23 in Los Angeles, outreach coordinator Allison Lilly said.

The goal is to create the most fuel-efficient and consumer friendly car, Lilly said. General Motors, one of the competition’s headlining sponsors, donated a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu for each team’s redesign.

The U.S. Department of Energy is the other headlining sponsor for the competition.

The competition in its entirety is divided into phases, over three years, Lilly said, each of which are judged separately in a final week of competition.

In year one, teams designed the advanced propulsion technologies to be incorporated in years two and three. Team Penn State chose its architecture by using modeling and simulation and used hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulators to develop and test their control strategies.

Including team advisor Gary Neal, Penn State is sending 12 students, in engineering and communications, for the final competition.

On May 15, students shipped a palette packed with the vehicle’s engine, monitors and other materials needed to for the trade show to Los Angeles.

The team will present across seven judged presentations: mechanical, electrical, controls, HIL, outreach, business and a trade show evaluation – the purpose being to present how the team would market the final product.

Winners for year one will be announced on May 23 at a final awards ceremony.