STONY BROOK, N.Y., June 26, 2008 – The Stony Brook University Motorsports team took 2nd place out of an international field of 120 collegiate teams at the 2008 Baja SAE competition in Montreal, Canada. The Baja SAE is a four-day event that simulates real-world engineering design projects in which teams of engineering students are tasked to design and build an off-road vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain. All vehicles are powered by a standard ten horsepower engine donated by Briggs & Stratton Corporation.

“We are very proud of our team this year, yet this student project is not just about racing,” says Dr. Yacov Shamash, VP of Economic Development and Dean of the College of Engineering & Applied Sciences at Stony Brook University. “Students from the Stony Brook Motorsports program benefit from exceptional employment opportunities, receiving internships and full time job offers from such companies as GE, Ford, Boeing, GM, Motorola, Timken, and Honda, just to name a few.”

Baja SAE Collegiate design series draws teams from universities around the world to compete for top honors. The students design, build, test, and race off-road vehicles, and are judged on static design elements such as ergonomics, safety, and aesthetics as well as dynamic events including maneuverability and acceleration. The whole event culminates in a four-hour endurance race around a custom designed track during which both vehicles and drivers are put to the ultimate test. This race begins with more than 100 cars and finishes with a fraction of that number still in operation.

While other racing venues might encourage the application of more power to go faster, the Baja SAE competition series requires students to address issues such as parasitic drivetrain losses, vehicle weight reduction, control dynamics, as well as power transmission and application, in order to produce a more competitive design. Team advisor, Noah Machtay, who is an Instructional Support Specialist in the Department of Mechanical Engineering as well as a Ph.D. candidate, stresses the significance of this aspect of the project, saying, “In a world where energy costs are rising, and the environmental effects of human activities are being recognized as a major concern for the future, engineers with this type of training will be in a very strong position to make a positive impact on society.”

The Stony Brook Motorsports team, formally MiniBaja, has participated in competitions every year for the past 15 years and the rankings have steadily improved. Last year, they were ranked number 3 overall. The team was founded 20 years ago by a group of Mechanical Engineering students with Professor Lin-Shu Wang of the department of Mechanical Engineering as the advisor. Stony Brook Motorsports has been championed by Professor Fu-pen Chiang since he became the department chair of Mechanical Engineering some 15 years ago.

“The College of Engineering and Applied Science believes that the integration of classroom material with hands-on experience is a critical advantage which allows our students to apply what they learn to the real world,” says Dr. Imin Kao, Associate Dean and Professor of Mechanical Engineering. “The Baja SAE project is a prime example of this principle in operation.” In fact, this year's winning effort was done as part of Mechanical Engineering’s senior design projects with Professor Yu Zhou as the course instructor.

This year the Stony Brook Motorsports team was sponsored by Flagpoles Inc., PK Metals, Dayton T. Brown, Motorola, Timken, Polaris, Briggs & Stratton, and Fox Racing Shox among others. On-campus sponsors include the College of Engineering and Applied Science, the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Undergraduate Student Government, URECA and UAA, Provost Eric W. Kaler, Vice President for Research Gail Habicht, and President Shirley Strum Kenny.

“I am extremely proud and honored to have had the opportunity to work with such talented and hardworking teammates,” said Stony Brook Team President Jean Christian Brutus, who is a graduating senior in Mechanical Engineering and will be a PhD student in Mechanical Engineering at Stony Brook University for Fall 2008. “Without our sponsors, none of this could be possible, and we can’t thank them enough for their support.”

© Stony Brook University 2008

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