Shell Eco-Marathon Americas 2015
Posted on October 21st, 2014 by Mary Lord
Shell Eco-marathon is a global challenge that motivates high school and college students to drive farther than their peers on one gallon of fuel. Student teams participate in one of or both the Prototype (futuristic design) and UrbanConcept (roadworthy, fuel-efficient) classes.
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Tags: Cars, Contest, Energy, fuel-efficiency, race, Shell Eco-marathon, STEM education
Shell Eco-marathon is a global challenge that motivates students to drive farther than their peers on one gallon of fuel. Student teams participate in one or both of the Prototype and UrbanConcept classes. The Prototype class invites student teams to enter futuristic streamlined vehicles focused on maximizing fuel efficiency through innovative design elements, such as drag reduction.
A Purdue University engineering professor has found that building and racing go-karts is a great way not only to interest his own students in science and engineering, but at-risk middle-school kids as well. 
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A woman and a Latina, Alba Colon is a leader of a new generation of engineers in a sport — auto racing — long dominated by white men. After a few years in data acquisition, Colon entered racing management, becoming GM Racing’s Chevrolet program manager in 2001 — the only top-ranking female engineer in NASCAR and a key point of contact between drivers, owners, and crew chiefs.
In this design challenge for grades 6 to 8, students will harness the power of the sun to design, construct and evaluate a solar-powered modelcar of their creation. Students will utilize the design process and undergo review by their peers to select an optimal gear ratio and components for their car. As a culminating activity, students compete in a “Solar Sprint” race modeled after the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Junior Solar Sprint competition.
