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EcoCar receives first place for NSF Innovation Award

June 22, 2017

From left: Denis Jivaikin, James Goin, Joanna Mazer, Ting-Yu (Jacky) Wang and Professor Bruce Darling.

At the national competition, the UW EcoCar team took first place in the innovation topic paper and presentation for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Award. Students on the first-place team include UW electrical engineering (UW EE) students James Goin, Joanna Mazer, Denis Jivaikin, Ting-Yu (Jacky) Wang, Thaniel Schrimshire and Brandon Noyes and Paul G. Allen School of computer science and engineering student Max Thompson.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors (GM), EcoCAR is a multi-year, multi-phase challenge in which students work to convert a Chevrolet Camaro into a hybrid-electric car. From donated cars, students design a more fuel-efficient powertrain to replace their vehicle’s stock powertrain. This challenge provides students an opportunity to gain hands-on engineering experience and develop real-world problem-solving skills.

Of the 14 nation-wide teams participating, the UW team took seventh place overall. The team will now be working to improve their car before next year’s competition. As the majority of EcoCar teams are composed of only mechanical engineering students, the UW team holds a unique position by also incorporating electrical and computer engineering students. This collaboration offers a dynamic and diverse approach in design and power.

 

UW electrical engineering Professor Bruce Darling is the ECE (electrical and computer engineering) advisor and UW mechanical engineering Professor Brian Fabien is the faculty advisor.

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