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This week’s Where Are They Now post features Brandon Tarbert, a long-time Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition (AVTC) participant. Starting as an undergraduate at The Pennsylvania State University, Brandon was looking to get involved with things that interested him. He was told as a freshman that the best way to end up in a career he loved was to get involved in an extracurricular activity in college. One evening when Brandon was out with friends, he met the school’s Challenge X team leader and heard all about the competition. Brandon had a nascent interest in hybrid vehicles and clean energy and thought it could be an exciting opportunity.
Starting in Year One, Brandon began working with Penn State’s Advanced Vehicle Technologies (AVT) team to promote Challenge X throughout the campus and to local news media. As the competition progressed, Brandon and the AVT team worked with other sustainable groups around campus to promote sustainable living.
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in communications from Penn State, Brandon was hired by Sentech, Inc. as a communications analyst for the U. S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Program. At the DOE, Brandon managed communications and web development. He worked with engineers to promote the research and development pursued at the DOE’s national laboratories focused on advanced vehicle technologies. Brandon also supported the logistics, planning, and judging for EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge.
Brandon really enjoyed working with the EcoCAR students, but is currently fulfilling a two-year service with the Peace Corps in the Republic of Benin, a country in West Africa. We wish Brandon the best during his service and look forward to his return!
Brandon teaching in West Africa
President Spanier
The Penn State EcoCAR team is proud to share that the Penn State University president, Dr. Graham Spanier, spoke about the team and its efforts at the school’s most recent Board of Trustees meeting. President Spanier spoke highly of the EcoCAR team’s third place finish at the Year Two competition during his informational report. In his remarks, President Spanier said:
“Let me now highlight several initiatives where research meets education. Recently, a car designed by a Penn State student team won third place overall in the 2010 EcoCAR competition sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy. The competition challenged university engineering students to re-engineer a GM-donated vehicle, with goals to improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions while retaining the vehicle’s performance and consumer appeal. Sixteen teams competed and Penn State’s EcoCAR brought home 10 trophies, including best social media, best AVL driver quality and best technical report.”
President Spanier also spoke about the EcoCAR team at the State of the University Address last September. The Penn State team is thrilled to be recognized so highly by the president of its university. They hope to continue to make Dr. Spanier and the rest of our university proud in Year Three!
The PSU EcoCAR team at the Year Two Finals
When the Penn State EcoCAR team arrived in Pennsylvania after the Year Two competition and settled into summer mode, they focused on three priorities for June, July and August. In addition to evaluating their Year Two results and planning for Year Three, the team had to clean and organize the garage and labs. While spending hours going through boxes and cleaning top to bottom, the team came across a few items that brought back memories and served as a friendly reminder of Year Two.
The team found safety glasses in every nook and cranny of their workspace. The glasses reminded them that no matter how engrossed they are in their work, safety is always number one at Penn State, whether in the garage or at competition. In fact, the team members who went to competition placed in the top six for performing the “Safety Dance” on skit night, a performance complete with bright orange safety vests, hard hats and even the running-man dance!
When walking into the garage, a barely visible car bench seat, about as long as a small couch, peeks out from behind a corner. No one would understand the importance of the seat like the team members who pulled all-nighters working in the garage. The seat is a token of the long hours the team puts in during the wee hours of the morning, displaying diligence and perseverance. Outreach Coordinator, Dana Bubonovich, even pulled an all-nighter to show support for the late night regulars!
An all-nighter in the garage!
The team also found an extendable magnet in a bin from competition. The magnet is tiny, but important tool that reminds them of how they faced adversity in a tense situation and overcame it. Penn State was on the cusp of being the first team to pass safety/tech inspection in Yuma, when a team member accidentally dropped a tiny washer into the power inverter module. It took the team six hours and several clever inventions to retrieve the washer, including a Shop-Vac, zip ties, a Borescope, duct tape and LED lights, and a variety of magnets. GM supervisor, Tom Garcia, eventually fetched the washer with a claw, and the team is forever grateful for his help.
PSU team member, Marty Lechner, using the extendable magnet to get to the washer
Sitting on the back wall of the Penn State garage is a mill, often overlooked except for when it needs to be used. The mill is an icon of all the time and labor that goes into building the vehicle. The mill created mounts that hold essential components in place, so the team’s EcoCAR can drive smoothly. It is a reminder of the tedious focus needed to build a car because of the constant realization that one small error could cause a detrimental fault in the vehicle. Mounts created on the mill keeps the vehicle in tact, much like teamwork and dedication holds the Penn State team together to accomplish its goals.
While organizing the labs, the team discovered a couple LiveGreen bracelets lying around from its outreach influencer campaign. The keepsakes continue to remind the team that the EcoCAR competition has an end goal to reduce emissions, resulting in a greener earth for future generations. The bracelets are a symbol of reaching out to the public to proudly display what the EcoCAR competition is all about: green technologies and a clean environment.
The Nittany Lion showing off the LiveGreen bracelet!
One thing that is still on the team’s mind is the air conditioner compressor that they couldn’t quite finish at competition; not only because of the hot summer temperatures, but because it is a reminder of the work to come in Year Three. In the final year of the EcoCAR competition, the Penn State team will have new faces mixed with veterans, and will be prepared for obstacles, long nights and, of course, fun. The team has regrouped, reorganized and planned for Year Three by setting new goals and deadlines. The first item they will tackle is the air conditioner, and Mother Nature will make sure the first goal is soon accomplished!
The Penn State team is looking forward to the new challenges and memories of Year Three and will never forget the great accomplishments of Years One and Two!
With seven E85, six B20 biodiesel, two H2 fuel cell, and one full-electric vehicle at the Year Two Finals, the contest was fierce as each team showcased their unique vehicle architecture and competed for the first place trophy.
In the end, Mississippi State University took top honors with their plug-in series hybrid. The team won more than 15 awards during the Year Two Competition Finals, including 1st place in Energy Storage Design, 1st place in Outreach, 1st place in every Emissions and Energy Consumption event, and had the Best Controls, Mechanical, and Vehicle Design Review presentations.
In Year Two, the Mississippi team integrated a variety of components into their vehicle to decrease emissions and maintain consumer acceptability. The team’s plug-in range-extended hybrid included a well designed, translucent energy storage system cover with an inventive liquid cooling system. They had an innovative high-voltage wire routing, urea injection system, and maintained stock cargo space. They even bettered the baseline vehicle by more than two seconds in the Autocross Event.
MSU's EcoCAR on the road!
MSU also won every dynamic event in the Emission and Energy Consumption category. For the first time in Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition history, the Mississippi team received the highest fuel consumption score. The team utilized more than 90 percent of their 21 kWh battery pack and finished both the 22 mile and 44 mile schedule without using any biodiesel. The team was also able to significantly reduce their petroleum use by charge depleting for 60 miles and bettered the baseline vehicle’s greenhouse gas score by more than 30 percent in the Well-to-Wheel Greenhouse Gases event. In the end, Mississippi State achieved Tier 2, Bin 7 emissions over the EcoCAR drive schedule and averaged less than 2 Lge/100km in fuel consumption.
Taking home second place at the Year Two Finals, Virginia Tech won a combined eight trophies including Best Electrical Presentation and Best Braking, and was the runner up in Best Petroleum Energy Usage and Best Tailpipe Emissions. The team’s E85 engine with a 15 kilowatt belted alternator and 80 kilowatt rear traction drive successfully completed every dynamic event. Virginia Tech’s vehicle stopped within mere seconds during the Braking event and won Best Static Consumer Acceptability with a clean engine compartment, five passenger seating, and a fully functional touch screen.
The Virginia Tech EcoCAR during emissions testing
Penn State University placed third overall with a 1.3L, B20 biodiesel series hybrid. At the Year Two Finals, the team took home eight awards, including Best AVL Drive Quality, Best Social Media, 2nd in A123 Battery Design, 3rd in Outreach, and was the runner up in Best Fuel Consumption and Best Tailpipe Emissions. The team’s fuel consumption averaged around 4.1 Lge/100 km and the EcoCAR displayed impressive acceleration linearity and quick throttle response during the Drive Quality dynamic tests. In addition, the team was able to host more than 50 outreach events and increase media relations by more than 400 percent in the outreach program.
The PSU team working under hood
Although Mississippi State, Virginia Tech and Penn State were the top three teams in Year Two, there was a variety of other awards given out during Finals. You can find the complete list of winners, here.
With only one year left, the EcoCAR competition will get fierce as all 16 EcoCAR teams fight for the number one spot in Year Three. Who will it be? Check back to the Inside the Green Garage blog throughout Year Three for team and competition updates!
What is your team’s secret to winning? What kind of fuel economy did your vehicle get? What was the best part about being at the GM Desert Proving Ground in Yuma?
Check back to the Inside the Green Garage blog tomorrow at 3 p.m. ET for an opportunity to talk shop with the EcoCAR Year Two winners – Mississippi State, Virginia Tech and Penn State. Simply click below to join the chat and ask the teams your questions.
Webchat with the Top Three Universities from Year Two EcoCAR Challenge
Please join us on Friday, June 4 at 3:00 p.m. EDT for an opportunity to chat with the recently announced EcoCAR Year Two winners: Mississippi State, Virginia Tech and Penn State. During the Web chat, the teams will answer questions about their exceptional vehicles, highlights from Year Two and their strategies for Year Three of the competition! The conversation will take place right here on the Inside the Green Garage blog. No early registration is required, just come to the site and have your questions ready! Please spread the word and we’ll see you back here next Friday.
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the EcoCAR Challenge by watching another installment of the Yuma Confessionals!
Below is a video discussing a sticky situation the Penn State team faced.
Congratulations to the first three teams to pass Safety/Tech Inspection. Mississippi State and Penn State officially passed their inspections late last night, and UOIT passed early this morning.
The UOIT team was close to passing earlier, but just kept encountering small problems that seemed to take much more time than expected to remedy. The team said they spent a lot of time wrapping wires in the correct colors of tape and making sure certain areas of the vehicle were labeled with the correct signage.
The Mississippi State team was the first team to pass Safety/Tech Inspections
Mississippi State passed the inspection slightly before Penn State, but the teams actually worked together to solve some of their problems, including controls issues. Teams shared notes and expertise to help each other along.
“Being the first to pass Safety Inspection doesn’t mean we are ahead in the competition,” said Matt Doude, team leader for Mississippi State University. “Our biggest events are still ahead of us and there are so many awesome teams that we have to compete against. It’s going to be tough.”
All the teams have been hard at work, and teams from University of Victoria, North Carolina, and Wisconsin are in the queue for their safety inspection this afternoon.
The Penn State EcoCAR team recently created LiveGreen, a campaign to promote sustainability at Penn State.
In March and April, members of the team implemented LiveGreen at youth presentations, community events, and Earth Week at Penn State. To promote the program, the team partnered with influencers in the community including, State College mayor Elizabeth Goreham, Penn State “Captain Planet” Paul Ruskin, Drew Astorino of Penn State Football, and Mike El-Saleh of Penn State Fencing.
The team also handed out more than 5,000 LiveGreen bracelets to students, community members, and youth in the area. The bracelets symbolized the importance of living a green lifestyle.
How do you live green? Check out the cool video below for helpful tips.
Many EcoCAR students live every day like it’s Earth Day, but on April 22, several teams held special events in recognition of Earth Day 2010. Read about the celebrations below for ideas on how to make Earth Day 2011 an even better event on your own campus.
Every year, Georgia Tech hosts an Earth Day event for more than 3,000 people and 70 exhibitors. This year, the theme was “Celebrate Our World” and featured eco-friendly giveaways, recycling opportunities, a clothing swap, office supply exchange, live music, and organic popcorn. The Georgia Tech EcoCAR team was on site and shared the team’s efforts to create a greener Earth.
Georgia Tech's EcoCAR display at the Earth Day event
Penn State’s Advanced Vehicle Technologies (AVT) team celebrated Earth Day by joining forces with other organizations on campus to hand out eco-friendly freebies and participate in green trivia. The highlight of the day was a water bottle exchange – each student that recycled a plastic water bottle received a free reusable bottle. The response was overwhelming and the Penn State team donated the plastic bottles to an organization that was building an eco-house out of bottles on campus.
Penn State students participating in the water bottle exchange
Virginia Tech’s Hybrid Electric Team (HEVT) participated in Earth Week on campus, promoting alternative clean transportation like riding the bus, walking or biking to class. Students who don’t drive to campus received a free t-shirt and were entered into a raffle for a free bike.
The team’s extended-range electric EcoCAR was on display on campus, alongside an all electric vehicle, a hybrid and a biodiesel bus. Towards the end of the event HEVT even got to show off their vehicle running in all electric mode!
Virginia Tech's EcoCAR on display during Earth Week
The Missouri S&T EcoCAR team talked to more than 1,000 local students about the importance of renewable energy, clean energy, and energy conservation on Earth Day. The theme of the school’s annual celebration was, “Be Green! Keep the Planet Clean.”
Take a look at the Missouri S&T Earth Day festivities in the video below!
We’d love to hear how YOU celebrated Earth Day this year!
