In a little corner of University Park, something big is happening. Something that could change the future. Something with an electric power train … and an optimized combustion engine.

Spurred by the spirit of competition and the drive to innovate, a team of 40 undergraduate and graduate students is trying to address a significant problem as part of an intercollegiate contest known as EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge.

In an effort to thwart impending transportation and ecological crises, the group is designing the ultimate green car—one that uses new technologies to optimize fuel consumption and decrease emissions, all while preserving the vehicle's performance, safety and consumer appeal. Oh, and they are trying to do it better than 16 other groups of students at universities across North America.

"These students are highly motivated and dedicated and put in long hours working on a topic near and dear to their hearts," said Dr. Gary Neal, team faculty adviser and department head for systems development and engineering at Penn State's Applied Research Laboratory.

Goal: Save the Planet

Sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy and overseen by Argonne National Laboratory, EcoCAR is a three—year, collegiate, advanced vehicle technology engineering competition, running from 2008 to 2011. This cooperative effort among government, industry and academia aims to address demand for more fuel—efficient vehicles in light of concerns about oil prices and global warming. It tasks each team to use real—world engineering processes to design and build a working hybrid car out of a 2009 Saturn Vue stock vehicle donated by GM.

The Penn State group working on the competition is known as the Advanced Vehicle Technologies Team, housed at the Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute. The students are exploring a variety of cutting—edge, clean solutions as they create their hybrid vehicle. They must consider which technologies (full—function electric, range—extended electric, hybrid, plug—in hybrid or fuel—cell) will best suit their vehicle; which materials will improve aerodynamics; and which alternative fuels (ethanol, biodiesel or hydrogen) might be utilized. The estimated miles per gallon depends on which technology is used; for example, the team calculates that the car's plug—in capability will have a 20—mile range on electric and then 42 mpg on diesel after that.

Decisions must be made carefully to give them the best chance of creating a machine superior to their competitors'—in addition to making a serious contribution to their field and the future of the planet. "Not only are these students receiving an invaluable experience and opportunity, but they also are doing so while working on a program whose goal is to help our environment," said Neal.

Not Just for Engineers

Reaching out to the community for volunteer support is vital to the Advanced Vehicle Technologies Team's EcoCAR effort, and the team is always eager to get others involved in not only this but also other competitions, whether that means new undergraduate or graduate students or members of the community.

"The team prides itself on outreach," said Dana Bubonovich, public relations coordinator for the team and a senior public relations major.

Getting high school students involved is a priority, particularly those interested in studying at Penn State. In hopes of attracting interested students, the team has participated in the annual College of Engineering Open House, which is directed toward incoming undergraduates. Also, one of the college's first—year seminars introduces new students to the work of the team and invites them to participate in the competition.

"Getting high school students and new undergraduates involved whenever possible is a great mentoring opportunity," said Mark Hull, former student outreach coordinator for the team and recent mechanical engineering graduate. "They can see what options they have among different majors and learn that when you want to accomplish a common goal, it takes the actions of many contributors from different backgrounds."

In fact, the competition requires a multidisciplinary approach, and the team is always looking for volunteers who can assist with duties that range from administrative to promotional.

"A well—developed and engineered car means nothing if the public does not know about it," said Derek Bailey, a mechanical engineering graduate student who joined the team as an undergraduate.

And neither the engineers nor the public relations team could continue their jobs without business—minded members, who keep the whole project within the budget set by EcoCAR organizers.

Cheer Joy

The first year of the three—year EcoCAR Challenge, which concluded at the end of the spring 2009 semester, was strictly a design effort, in which the students used math—based tools to compare and select hardware and control systems in a virtual atmosphere. In June, at the year—one concluding competition in Toronto, Canada, the Penn State team presented its plans for its vehicle and finished seventh overall. The team also won awards for best sportsmanship, best social networking and outreach efforts.

The second year of competition commenced with the delivery of the stock vehicle in late summer and will involve integration of components to build a prototype vehicle. In the third year, the vehicle will be completed, and Penn State will put its entry through a battery of competitive tests against the 16 other schools.

Penn State's team has been active in these types of competitions for about a decade. Previously, team members participated in the FutureTruck and Challenge X competitions, which were both organized by Argonne National Laboratory. Penn State took several top honors in the 2008 Challenge X competition, including best vehicle appearance for its hybrid Chevrolet Equinox.

Often the community's reaction to the team's work is reward enough. "We get lots of opportunities to show off what we have accomplished and teach others about how this topic affects them," said Hull. "At many of our outreach events, we get cheers and thanks of appreciation from the public, which only works to further motivate us."