Penn State places first in Shell Eco-marathon contest
April 29, 2008
A team of engineering students from Penn State snagged a first-place finish recently in the 2008
Shell Eco-marathon.
The contest, held April 10 to 12 at the California Speedway in Fontana, Calif., challenges students to design and build an ultra-high gas mileage vehicle.
The Penn State team constructed a hydrogen-powered vehicle that managed to achieve 1,668 miles per gallon equivalent. The team won first place in the fuel cell category and seventh overall.
The Penn State Eco-marathon vehicle was part of a mechanical engineering capstone design course.
The competition included technical high school and university teams from the United States, Canada and Mexico. A variety of systems powered the 32 vehicles that were entered into the contest. These included vehicles powered by combustion engines (gasoline, diesel and liquid petroleum gas), hydrogen fuels cells and solar power.
The car will be on display as part of the College of Engineering’s Project Showcase on Thursday, May 1, in the HUB Alumni Hall.
Contact
Curtis Chan
news@engr.psu.edu
814-865-5544