by Kristin Terrill
Daily Lobo
Making racecars is a real-world application for student engineers.
On Saturday at Explora Museum, UNM students displayed their sleek, shiny fire-engine-red 2003 racecar. This year's model will be the one they take to competition.
UNM's Formula Society of Automotive Engineers has a 30-member team, which has been working on building a racecar for a competition in May. After the unveiling of the 2004 race car, the team will set off for Detroit, Mich., and Formula SAE, the biggest engineering competition in the world.
The team designed, assembled and tested the car under John Russell, faculty adviser.
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The team also made every part of the car, except for the engine, rims and seat belts. Custom-made parts were the programming team's job.
But that's just the beginning. The cost of building the car was about $17,000. The School of Engineering, ASUNM and Ford contributed about 30 percent of the funds. They also received private donations. The marketing committee has to dig up the rest.
Miguel Casias, the marketing team leader, said his goal is to get the sponsors' names on the car.
About 140 teams will enter the competition in May, 20 percent of which will be from other countries.
Danielle Martinez, a building teams member, said the competition is fierce, particularly from other teams that have more money and more experience.
Martinez said she is confident that if UNM doesn't place first, the team will at least rank in the top 10.
Craig Sinsabaugh, the assistant project manager, shares Martinez' confidence, and said the 2004 model is well designed and will be competitive.
He said it will do well in all areas of competition, including racing, safety testing and design, among others. He also said he hopes the competition helps UNM build a name for itself among engineering schools.
Team members said they enjoy this project. Martinez said she decided to join because of the challenge of a real-world engineering problem. She said the application of engineering theory is one of the main selling points for getting involved in this project.
"I think it's a great project for engineering students," Sinsabaugh said.
He added that although the work is more difficult than paper work, there are definite rewards for people with drive and determination.
These rewards include the experience of working on a team, Casias said.
"It really came together when everybody started to compromise," he said. "It couldn't be done without a diverse group of very talented individuals."
A substantial reward for students is the opportunity to add Formula SAE to a rÇsumÇ. For many engineering companies, particularly automotive firms, this could be a major asset.
The team is still testing its drivers. There are 10 in the running, but this number must be narrowed down to seven. Martinez said she hopes at least one of these will be a girl, and that this is still a possibility.
