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Students
Channel
10
Seasons
Of
Energy-Efficient
Innovations
At Shell
Eco-marathon®
Americas
2016
Nearly
100
schools
return
to
Detroit
to
compete
in the
world's
most
energy-efficient
race
By
Claudia
Lugo/Tell
Us
Detroit
via
PRNewswire.com
DETROIT
- More
than
1,000
students
from 128
teams
are
enthusiastically
working
to
finish
their
custom-built,
ultra-energy
efficient
vehicles
in the
final
days
leading
up to
the 10th
Shell
Eco-marathon
Americas,
taking
place in
Detroit
on April
22-24.
With a
record
to beat
of 3,587
miles
per
gallon,
set by
Quebec's
Université
Laval in
2013,
schools
from
across
the
Americas
–
including
Brazil,
Canada,
Ecuador,
Guatemala,
Mexico,
Puerto
Rico and
the
United
States –
are
pulling
out all
the
stops to
push the
limits
of
energy-efficiency
and
innovate
solutions
to the
world's
most
pressing
mobility
challenges.
"We had
a record
number
of teams
make it
to
Detroit
in
2016,"
said Pam
Rosen,
general
manager
for
Shell
Eco-marathon
Americas.
"Each
year we
have
more
schools
and
countries
joining
this
exciting
competition.
It's
inspiring
to see
how
passionate
these
young
people
are
about
innovation,
automobiles
and
energy.
Their
bright
ideas
are
exactly
what are
needed
to
create a
cleaner,
smarter
energy
future."
For more
than 30
years,
the
global
Shell
Eco-marathon
competitions
have
challenged
students
to build
energy-efficient
cars
that can
travel
the
farthest
distance
on the
least
amount
of
energy.
Teams
can
choose
from
seven
energy
classes
including,
diesel,
gasoline,
ethanol,
gas-to-liquid
(GTL),
compressed
natural
gas (CNG),
hydrogen
and
battery
electric
technologies
and
enter
into one
of two
vehicle
categories:
Prototype,
which
invites
students
to enter
futuristic,
streamlined
vehicles,
or
UrbanConcept,
which
focuses
on
"roadworthy"
fuel-efficient
vehicles
aimed at
meeting
the
real-life
needs of
drivers.
On
average
over the
last 10
seasons,
21
percent
of teams
have
competed
in the
UrbanConcept
category
verses
79
percent
in the
Prototype
category,
indicating
a
greater
interest
in
designing
cars
that
maximize
fuel
efficiency,
both
internally
and
aesthetically.
This
year,
three
teams
will be
taking
on the
challenge
of
competing
in the
CNG
energy
class,
which
was
first
introduced
to the
Americas
competition
in 2015.
Supplying
CNG as
well as
hydrogen
to
participating
fuel
cell-powered
vehicles,
the
Linde
Group
will be
onsite
to scout
new
talent
and
share
their
insights
on how
to
develop
hydrogen
technologies
and
products
that
unite
the
goals of
customer
value
and
sustainable
development.
The
Linde
Group
has
previously
tapped
talent
from
Shell
Eco-marathon
when it
recruited
Francois
Wolmarans,
who
competed
in Shell
Eco-marathon
Americas
2014 for
Florida
State
University,
to be an
application
sales
engineer
with
Food and
Beverages.
Today,
Francois
and many
other
Shell
Eco-marathon
Americas
alumni
are
thriving
in their
professional
careers
with
esteemed
companies
like the
Linde
Group as
a result
of their
experience
with the
competition.
Six
Schools
Mark
Their
10-Year
Shell
Eco-marathon
Americas
Anniversary
Six
schools
have
participated
in all
10
competitions
since
Shell
Eco-marathon
came to
the
Americas
in 2007,
including:
•California
Polytechnic
State
University
from San
Luis
Obispo,
CA, the
first
winner
of Shell
Eco-marathon
Americas
set the
bar at
1,902
mpg;
•Mater
Dei High
School
from
Evansville,
IN, a
nine-time
winner
known
for
their
team-oriented
attitude
of
helping
other
competitors;
•Cedarville
University
from
Cedarville,
OH,
known
for
having a
strong
technical
team
with one
of their
own
members
having
independently
rebuilt
20
different
engines;
•Rose-Hulman
Institute
of
Technology
from
Terra
Haute,
IN,
which
will
retire
their
classic
clear
cover
car
design
this
year.
Several
former
team
members
have
gone on
to work
for
major
car
manufacturers,
such as
Dodge,
Chrysler
and
Ford;
•Grand
Rapids
High
School
from
Grand
Rapids,
MN, a
previous
winner
of the
Technical
Innovation
award
and 3rd
place
winner
in the
Prototype/battery
electric
category
in 2015;
•The
University
of
California,
Los
Angeles
has won
the
Eco-Design
award
for
reuse of
vehicle
parts
and seen
team
members
go on to
work for
Lockheed
Martin,
NASA and
Boeing.
"Shell
Eco-marathon
has
allowed
us to
apply
what
we're
learning
in the
classroom
and
develop
the
hands-on
experience
that
automotive
and
engineering
companies
are
looking
for,"
said
John
Clairmont,
co-leader
for
Cedarville
University's
Prototype/Gasoline
car,
'Sting.'
"Being
part of
and
witnessing
all the
strides
in
innovation
from
other
schools
over the
years,
and to
see them
all come
together
in one
place
has been
extremely
rewarding
and
inspiring."
3D
Technology
Drives
More
Innovation
The
growing
popularity
of 3D
printing
technology
will
have a
bigger
presence
at this
year's
competition,
with
schools
such as
Duke
University,
Mater
Dei High
School
and
Indiana
State
University,
among
many
others,
each
leveraging
the
technology
to
develop
parts
for
steering
and
other
components.
Helping
to
better
modernize
3D
printing,
HP Inc.
- a
global
partner
at this
year's
competition
– will
be
onsite
to
recruit
talent
and
share
insights
on how
2D/3D
blended
reality
tools,
like the
company's
recently
launched
Sprout
Pro, can
make
designing
3D
automotive
parts
easier.
Building
from
Scratch
Other
teams,
such as
James B.
Dudley
High
School
and last
year's
winner,
the
University
of
Toronto,
have
taken a
more
organic
approach
to
designing
the car
of the
future
by
building
their
vehicles
entirely
from
scratch.
James B.
Dudley
High
School
has
historically
used
recycled
parts
such as
old
crutches,
bed
rails
and
spare
tires to
comprise
their
cars and
is one
of two
teams
competing
in the
gas-to-liquid
(GTL)
category.
Last
year's
champion,
the
University
of
Toronto,
achieved
3,421
mpg and
was the
only
team to
build
their
engine
from
scratch.
"We're
excited
to have
the
support
of so
many new
partners
as well
as the
Detroit
community,
making
this
competition
a truly
collaborative
event to
foster
the next
generation
of
automotive
scientists
and
engineers,"
said
Niel
Golightly,
vice
president,
external
relations
for
Shell.
Global
and
Local
Partners
Help
Cultivate
Future
Talent
A
platform
for
recruitment,
Shell
Eco-marathon
Americas
cultivates
the
sharing
of ideas
and
inspires
collaboration
among
students
from
different
backgrounds,
age
groups,
cultures
and
career
interests,
in a
city
that is
home to
automotive
inspiration
and is
on a
path to
reinventing
itself.
A number
of
global
corporations,
academics
and
government
entities
will be
present
at the
competition
to both
learn
from and
share
insights
with the
participants,
investing
in the
talent
and
technology
that
will
define
mobility
for a
new era.
For
example,
the
Michigan
Economic
Development
Corporation
(MEDC)
will
introduce
a
program
called,
"We Run
on
Brainpower"
with the
goal to
attract
young
talent
to the
auto
industry.
To
better
accomplish
this,
the MEDC
has
partnered
with ,
an
organization
with a
mission
to
encourage
greater
interest
in
science,
technology,
engineering
and math
(STEM)
among
K-12
students.
Other
technical
and
association
partners
who are
making
this
year's
event
even
more
special
for
student
participants
and
public
visitors
include
Fiat
Chrysler
Automobiles
(FCA),
Quicken
Loans,
Opportunity
Detroit,
Team
Penske,
Toyota
Motor
North
America,
Hitachi,
Ford
Motor
Company,
The
Henry
Ford,
Motor
Cities
Heritage,
Michigan
Science
Center,
Southwest
Research
Institute,
Michelin,
AutoZone,
SAE
International,
Universal
Technical
Institute
(UTI)
and the
City of
Detroit.
The
public
is
invited
to
attend
Shell
Eco-marathon
Americas
at Cobo
Center
to watch
young
innovators
compete
on an
outdoor
track,
and
enjoy a
festival
of
innovation,
energy
and
creativity.
Admission
and
parking
at Cobo
Center
are
free.
Find out
more
about
the
Americas
event at
. For
more
information
about
all 2016
events
across
the
globe,
including
additional
details
on
vehicle
class
requirements,
official
rules
and
details
on
prizes,
please
visit
the
Shell
Eco-marathon
website
at .
Shell
Eco-marathon
Americas
Partners
in
Innovation
Global
and full
event
partners:
Our
global
partners
help
support
the
three
annual
regional
events
around
the
world.
For
2016,
the Asia
event
took
place in
Manila,
Philippines,
the
Americas
event
takes
place in
Detroit,
Michigan,
USA, and
the
Europe
event
will
take
place in
London,
England,
UK.
These
partners,
along
with our
local
full
event
partners,
provide
benefit-in-kind
support
throughout
the
year,
technical
expertise
at the
event as
well as
support
to the
overall
student
program
and
public
experience.
They
include
Hewlett
Packard
Enterprise
(HPE),
HP Inc.,
the
Linde
Group,
Michelin,
Southwest
Research
Institute
and Fiat
Chrysler
Automobiles
(FCA).
Technical
and
local
partners:
Our
technical
and
local
partners
have
provided
tremendous
support
in 2016,
ranging
from
benefit-in-kind,
direct
underwriting,
technical
and
general
volunteers,
spokespeople,
and
logistical
support
for the
student
and
public
experience
programs.
Their
efforts
have
made
this
year's
event
even
more
memorable
for the
student
participants
and
public
visitors.
They
include:
Opportunity
Detroit,
Quicken
Loans,
Team
Penske,
Toyota
Motor
North
America,
Michigan
Economic
Development
Corporation
(MEDC),
Hitachi,
Ford
Motor
Company,
The
Henry
Ford,
Michigan
Science
Center,
AutoZone,
SAE
International,
Universal
Technical
Institute
(UTI)
and
Motor
Cities
Heritage.
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