Houston World Energy Congress to Showcase FutureCar Competition Winners
5 August 1998
Houston World Energy Congress to Showcase FutureCar Competition Winners WASHINGTON, Aug. 4 -- The winners of the 1998 U.S. Department
of Energy FutureCar Competition are Virginia Tech and the University of
Wisconsin, which tied for first place, and Lawrence Tech, which placed third.
Each school will send a team of four students and one faculty advisor to
showcase their modified automobiles at the Houston World Energy Congress
September 13-18.
The FutureCar Challenge, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and
the U.S. Council for Automotive Research, is an initiative aimed at building a
more energy efficient automobile. The competition encourages students to
design an automobile that meets the standards of President Clinton's
Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles. Student teams are challenged to
increase the efficiency of a conventional family sedan, increasing its gas
mileage to 80 miles per gallon, while maintaining today's price levels and
performance standards.
The FutureCar Challenge, because of the attention it has received from the
media in recent years, has also helped universities attract resources and
funds from large corporations. Lawrence Tech recently received $200,000 from
Chrysler to investigate manufacturing carbon fiber vehicle drive shafts.
These partnerships serve to increase the quality of research opportunities at
American universities while advancing innovations in vehicle design.
In addition to promoting innovations in automobile design, the FutureCar
Challenge also prepares graduating engineering students for the challenges of
the workplace. Student participants find that their involvement in the
FutureCar Challenge serves as a valuable asset in the job search. Because the
competition requires students to plan and execute an actual project, they gain
valuable experience in designing, constructing, and evaluating their work. In
addition, the team work experience that students gain from the Challenge
proves valuable in the corporate climate. Several large corporations specify
that they are only interested in applicants who have hands on experience such
as the FutureCar Challenge.
The FutureCar Challenge provides tangible benefits for both students and
corporations. Students gain skills that prove to be essential in the
workplace; corporations are able to examine and evaluate new innovations in
vehicle design. Because of its focus on the development of energy-saving
technologies, the FutureCar Challenge winners will display their projects at
the 17th Congress of the World Energy Council in Houston, Texas,
September 13-18 at the George Brown Convention Center.
For further information contact Rob Donovan, Communications Manager by
phone at 202-331-0415, ext. 3015, toll free at 888-324-HWEC (4932), or by fax
at 202-659-0578. Inquiries can be sent by E-mail at hwec@aol.com.
Information about the event is also available by visiting the World Energy
Council's Web site at http://www.wec98congress.org.
