Cornell's student Formula SAE team scored well when the Society of Automotive Engineers' Formula SAE collegiate race car competition was held in Pontiac, Mich., May 17-21. Competing against 103 other teams from the United States and abroad, Cornell scored three firsts, two seconds and two thirds, taking home $3,750 in prize money.
The overall winner of the competition was Texas A&M, with the University of Wisconsin being the runner-up. Cornell placed 13th overall, losing points after failing to finish the endurance event.
However, the 25-member Big Red team did place first in the acceleration race, the Goodyear Best Performance Award and the Bosch Engine Management Award
In addition, team adviser Albert George, Cornell's J.F. Carr Professor of Mechanical Engineering, was awarded the Sports Car Club of America Carroll Smith Mentor's Cup, accompanied by $1,000, as the "outstanding Formula SAE faculty adviser." Also advising the Cornell team was Brad Anton, associate professor of chemical engineering.
Cornell teams triumphed in the overall event in 1997 and 1998 and last year placed third. The students receive academic credit for their work, as a yearlong special project in Cornell's Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
The event, held in the south parking lot of the Pontiac Silverdome, was sponsored by General Motors, Ford Motor and Daimler Chrysler. The competition challenges students to conceive, design, fabricate and compete with compact formula-style racing cars. The cars competed in a series of eight events and were judged in three different categories: static inspection and engineering design, solo performance trials and high-performance track endurance.
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