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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is a major supporter of educational competitions like EcoCAR, and most recently hosted the Chicago Regional Middle School Science Bowl.
This fast-paced, Jeopardy-style team competition featured 11 teams from the Chicagoland area competing to answer multiple-choice or short-answer questions relating to science and math facts or concepts.
Daniel Wright Middle School from Lincolnshire won first place and is going to the National Science Bowl in Washington, D.C. Jerling Junior High from Orland Park won second place while Roosevelt Middle School from River Forest won third place.
In all, 70 coaches and team members attended the event along with 26 Argonne National Laboratory and DOE volunteers.
Congratulations to the winning teams and we wish Daniel Wright Middle School the best of luck in the National Science Bowl!
Regional Winners from Daniel Wright Middle School
As expected, it didn’t take long for Chevrolet’s Volt to turn the heads of car-enthusiasts everywhere. Within a month of its release, GM’s newest hybrid car has won several awards, including 2011 Motor Trend Car of the Year and Green Car Journal’s Green Car of the Year. With sales anticipated to skyrocket, Chevrolet has already announced that they plan to double manufacturing, releasing over 100,000 units nationwide by 2012.
Considered the stepping stone to an automobile revolution, the electric car’s release was met with enormous buzz and expectations. The list of features is impressive – automatic seat warmers, a Bose Energy Efficient Series sound system, and a seven-inch LCD-screen panel that presents driving feedback and estimated electric and gas ranges – but the most appealing aspect of the car is probably its multi-faceted engine. A lithium-ion battery pack allows the Volt to travel up to 40 miles on pure electricity while a gasoline reserve powers the electric motors and fuels an internal generator. As expected with a green car, the Volt’s energy ratings are impressive. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has estimated the car’s overall fuel economy rating to be 60 mpg, the highest in its segment (the car’s all-electric mode is 93 mpg and all-gas mode is 37 mpg).
Chevrolet Volt (Image courtesy of Chevrolet.com)
Some experts believe that plug-in cars will catch fire in a similar fashion to other recent technological innovations such as smartphones and flat-screen TVs. It may be a slow start – the number of available refueling stations initially limited the release of the Volt to select states – but the combination of environmental friendliness and financial benefits will soon propel these vehicles up the ladder. Buckle your seatbelts; the roads are about to change!
Following President Barack Obama’s vow to prioritize energy innovation and infrastructure in yesterday’s State of the Union address, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu held an online town hall meeting during which he further explained the administration’s stance on clean energy.
“Today we are once again seeing the benefits for the American people that come with federal investments in science and innovation,” Secretary Chu said. “With this new agreement, battery technologies developed at the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory are making their way into the market. By supporting American innovation, commercialization and manufacturing, this partnership is helping to boost U.S. competitiveness and create the jobs of the future.”
Secretary Chu added that continuing business as usual will have a devastating effect on the entire world and echoed President Obama’s emphasis on clean energy efforts. With the President proposing to spend more than $8 billion on the field, Chu said that the nation’s overall prosperity depends on the clean energy race. So, what does this mean for you and for EcoCAR?
For one thing, it means more jobs. One of the administration’s goals is to have 1 million advanced technology vehicles on the road by 2015 and these vehicles aren’t going to design, engineer and manufacture themselves! To turn this ambitious goal into a reality, the auto industry will be looking to the next generation of engineers, especially those with AVTC experience like EcoCAR alumni! Just imagine – within a matter of years, team members currently competing in EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge could be steering the auto industry into an era of not only clean energy vehicles, but ones that are highly functional with broad consumer appeal.
More information about Secretary Chu’s statements can be found here or you can view the replay video embedded below.
Today’s town hall was the first in the year-long “Energy Matters” series in which DOE experts will address issues raised by the public. You can ask energy-related questions via email, Facebook and Twitter and have them answered live online. Stay tuned for the next one!
Following this week’s State of the Union address, U.S. Secretary Energy Steven Chu will host an online town hall to discuss President Obama’s clean energy agenda tomorrow, Wednesday, January 26th at 12:45pm ET.
Join the online town hall that is hosted on the U.S. Department of Energy’s website by visiting energy.gov/livechat. Devoted to designing, building, developing and enhancing environmentally responsible autos, the EcoCAR community should capitalize on this valuable opportunity to hear directly about the clean energy agenda, straight from the source, and ask questions about how the agenda will affect AVTCs like EcoCAR and let’s not forget the impact on your future livelihoods!
If you have questions for the Secretary ahead of tomorrow’s event, please email them to newmedia@hq.doe.gov, post them on DOE’s Facebook page, or tweet @energy with the hashtag #chu.
You will also have the chance to ask additional questions during the live event. Talk it over with your EcoCAR team, what questions are you most eager to hear Secretary Chu answer?
Don’t miss Secretary Chu as he answers your questions LIVE online at energy.gov/livechat on Wednesday (tomorrow!) at 12:45pm ET.
The Green Garage is excited to report that Argonne National Laboratory has signed a licensing agreement with General Motors for the automaker to test its patented composite cathode material that could improve lithium-ion battery life and energy storage density! The material could allow batteries to hold their charge longer, have a longer total life and charge at higher voltages. GM’s interest in the material could help to improve the efficiency of its next-generation of electric vehicles.
The New York Times recently interviewed GM spokesperson, Rob Peterson, who explained that a few years ago GM “started down the path of trying to understand batteries as well as [it] possibly could.” He went on to say that understanding new developments in battery technology will determine “who becomes the leader in electric vehicles.” GM has the largest battery test lab facility in the industry and views battery leadership as a core competency of the company.
Being the first American car company to license use of Argonne’s technology puts GM in a very good position to potentially improve the performance of future electric models.
We are thrilled that Argonne and GM have a strong EcoCAR presence because both companies, like all those involved in the competition, are on the cutting edge of advanced vehicle technologies!
Argonne battery researcher perfecting the novel material
The experts have voted and the 2011 North American Car of the Year is… General Motors’ Chevy Volt! Vehicles were judged by a group of 49 auto journalists who considered innovation, performance design and safety among other factors. The winner was announced today at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Although this is an amazing accomplishment, the Chevy Volt is not new to the spotlight. It was named car of the year by Automobile Magazine and Motor Trend and was also recognized as the Green Car of the Year at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November!
Image courtesy of GM
“It’s a great honor to be recognized as the North American Car of the Year,” said GM CEO Dan Akerson. “Since development began, we believed the Volt had the potential to transform the automotive industry. Today, the Volt is the first electric vehicle to win the prestigious North American Car of the Year award, and the first vehicle ever to receive the industry’s highest automotive, technology, and environmental recognitions.”
Many believe the Volt is setting the pace for the future, what do you think? Share your comments below!
Learn lots more about the Volt by checking out: 10 Facts about the Volt on GreenCar.com.
As a university student, interacting with someone already in your chosen field is a rewarding experience, and last week, some EcoCAR students did just that.
Five EcoCAR teams spent the week at the National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) Research & Innovation Conference in Atlanta – the division of the NSF that has been a long-time sponsor of the DOE Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions, such as EcoCAR.
Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Ohio State, Penn State, and Missouri Science & Technology were at the conference to demonstrate the wealth of knowledge they have obtained through their experiences in EcoCAR and to display vehicles and educational exhibits to the 1,300 attendees in fields ranging from academia to industry and government. Two of the teams, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, also showcased their EcoCARs at the conference.
Georgia Tech EcoCAR team members talking to guests at the NSF Conference
“The NSF supports EcoCAR because it gives young engineers an opportunity to get some hands-on, real-world experience in moving a vehicle from a stock vehicle to something far more advanced,” said Dr. Donald Senich, senior advisor of the Innovation and Industrial Partnership at NSF.
“The opportunity at the universities for a diverse group of students to build teams is extremely important in their education. NSF supports the program because it gives students such a unique and practical experience. ”
The NSF conference’s theme this year was “Engineering for Sustainability and Prosperity,” and emphasized the role civil, mechanical, industrial, and manufacturing engineers play in addressing the world’s growing challenges of using energy and natural resources in a sustainable manner.
Teams utilized the opportunity to reach out to leaders in innovation and sustainability to talk about how they are addressing those same issues through the EcoCAR competition.
“Our team spent a lot of time over the winter break working on the vehicle so that it would be ready to show at this conference,” said Rachel Dobroth, outreach coordinator for Virginia Tech. “It’s so rewarding to be able to show the vehicle to engineers and researchers in this field.”
The team leader of the Missouri S&T team, Kevin Martin, believed the NSF conference provided his team with a great opportunity to expand its outreach beyond our campus and Midwest.
“To get the opportunity to see what’s going on in the industry related to sustainability effects and see how vehicles can tie into that is great,” said Martin.
After a successful week at the NSF conference, the five teams feel proud of their accomplishments thus far, and about their experiences interacting and networking with industry leaders.
“I just enjoyed the interaction with the young people, with the individuals from General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy,” Dr. Senich said. “I think they’ve put together outstanding teams from the organizers’ side and the student side. And I feel like a member of the team.”
EcoCAR Team members at the NSF Conference
With the start of 2011, comes the announcement of the North American Car and Truck of the Year (NACOTY). Each January, a group of automotive journalists from an array of publications come together to select the most outstanding vehicles of the year. The votes are now in and for the first time in the award’s eighteen-year history, all of the finalists in the car category – the Chevy Volt, the Hyundai Sonata and the Nissan Leaf, are at least part electric. The Chevy Volt is a plug-in hybrid, the Hyundai Sonata is a hybrid and the Leaf is 100% electric.
The Chevy Volt
The NACOTY award goes to a vehicle that is either new or has been substantially changed from its prior model. The panel of judges assesses the vehicles based on innovation, performance, safety and driver satisfaction. Another key requirement is that the vehicle has projected annual sales of at least 5,000 units in North America.
This year’s finalists demonstrate that the future of eco-friendly cars is bright and that hybrids continue to gain acceptance. The winners of the North American Car and Truck of the Year will be announced at the North American International Auto Show on January 10th.
In a recent article, TreeHugger reported that Camp Pendleton, the U.S. Marine Corps’ training facility, will be receiving a new delivery in February…from Smith Electric! The USMC recently purchased two electric Newton trucks from the company and plans to use them to carry equipment and personnel on the base. Although the trucks may not be ready for combat just yet, they do carry up to eight tons of cargo and can go as far as 100 miles on a single charge. The trucks are fuel-emission free, making them an excellent start for the USMC’s goal to increase reliance on renewable electrical energy to 25 percent by 2025.
Photo: Smith Electric
While the purchase of the Newtons marks a milestone in the Marine Corps’ green initiative, it is not the first organization to use the Newton. In fact, the trucks have been used by a number of major companies carrying snack chips, soft drinks, and office supplies through the streets of New York City for a few months now. With all of the buzz around electric cars hitting the market in the near future, some people seem to be forgetting that electric vehicles are already traveling the streets today!
Delivery trucks have a set-route, often times less than 30 miles long and do not use the freeway, making them the perfect candidate to go electric. “The performance, infrastructure and availability issues that plague electric car and light-truck models don’t cross over to their commercial counterparts,” said Bryan Hansel, CEO of Smith Electric. It will be interesting to see if the USMC will purchase more Newtons in the future, but if it does, it may need to wait in line. Hansel says its trucks are back-ordered until the second quarter of next year.
This demand for the trucks doesn’t come as a big surprise, especially since the U.S. government is putting fuel-economy standards in place for commercial vehicles that go into effect in 2015.
What other industries or organizations do you think can benefit from electric vehicle technology? Let us know in the comments section below!
The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), a long-time partner to the DOE Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions, has presented the engineering community with one important question: What skills and experiences will today’s engineering students need to develop while in school and throughout their careers to successfully compete in today’s global workplace? To gather answers, ASEE set up an online survey and is soliciting input from educators, employers, students, and professional engineers.
The survey looks at different attributes such as knowledge of different subjects, management skills and spoken languages, and measures the perceived importance of each one at different stages in an engineer’s career – from an incoming university student to an experienced practicing professional. ASEE says they hope the findings will ultimately help “enhance the preparation, performance and employability of engineering graduates around the world.” To ensure global input is captured, ASEE collaborated with the International Federation of Engineering Education Societies (IFEES) and translated the survey into 12 languages.
You can find more information about the survey here and the complete form here. Findings are scheduled to be released by the end of the year. We’ll be looking out for them and share the results once they’re available!
Inside the Green Garage 