Students Strive to Build Environmentally Friendly Camaro

In designing a car, creativity is the rope that ties all the different parts together. It’s responsible for the design, look, and feel of the car. When the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) asks you to expand upon those features to make a car more environmentally friendly, those creative components have to be taken a step further.

This year Georgia Tech has been selected once more to participate in the DOE’s Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition, better known as EcoCAR 3. This is the third iteration of the EcoCAR competition and the second time Tech has been selected to participate. The competition invites teams from 14 American public universities and two Canadian universities, all of whom are given a brand new Chevrolet Camaro that they are tasked with redesigning over the next four years to make it more environmentally friendly. The goal is to design a car that runs on alternative fuel, reduces energy consumption, and emits fewer pollutants but maintains the same performance and safety standards of a regular Camaro.

Students began working on Tech’s EcoCAR this fall, but more help is needed. Students from any major or level of study can apply to EcoCAR through the Virtually Integrated Projects (VIP) Program every semester. The VIP Program offers students opportunities to get hands-on work experience with a variety of campus departments or projects, one of which is EcoCAR. The EcoCAR team is currently in need of students with skills in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer engineering, chemical engineering, and even communications.

Currently the Georgia Tech EcoCAR team is composed of three graduate students who are all specializing in different engineering fields. Those interested in learning more or wanting to get involved can attend one of EcoCAR's open meetings on Thursdays at 11 a.m. in Room 1440 of the Klaus Advanced Computing Building, or follow the team on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.