Contact: Robbie Ward
For the second consecutive year, Mississippi State's Challenge X team is taking first-place honors in student competition sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy.
The MSU group topped 16 others Wednesday [May 21] from universities in the United States and Canada, all seeking to re-engineer a sports utility vehicle with advanced technologies that improve fuel economy and lower emissions while maintaining driver comfort and vehicle performance. GM also announced that MSU will be participating in the next national design challenge.
The automaker provided each team with a Chevrolet Equinox that employs advanced power-train technologies. MSU's vehicle is an electric hybrid powered by a 1.9 liter GM direct injection turbo diesel engine fueled by B20 biodiesel. It achieved a 38 percent increase in fuel economy over the production vehicle on a modified urban test cycle, competition officials said.
Marshall Molen, Challenge X faculty adviser and an MSU distinguished professor of electrical and computer engineering, expressed pride in seeing the team rewarded again for their dedication and innovation. "They have found out, along with the rest of the country, we can compete with anyone," he said.
Leaders from GM and DOE said innovations developed by MSU and the other university teams portend a bright future for hybrid automotive technologies. "This competition is a unique demonstration of how tremendous technological advancements that are occurring at universities across North America can help us achieve a new energy future, one that is cleaner, more sustainable, more affordable, more secure, and less reliant on carbon-based fossil fuels," said U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman.
The complete GM release is available at http://www.challengex.org/pdfs/2008_cx_winner_release.pdf.
Molen said Challenge X team members soon will return to campus to begin work on the next challenge--GM's EcoCar.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: Dr. Molen may be reached for more comments at 662-325-2046 or molen@ece.msstate.edu.
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.