College students race hybrids for auto recruiters

[ElhaineK]

While most of us have most likely never attended a hybrid car race, the events are not uncommon. The yearly Formula Hybrid International Competition is occurring now in the New Hampshire town of Loudon. The race is set apart by the belief that all the automobiles were student-designed and constructed, and the judges are recruiters from main automakers, looking for brand new talent. Learn how: tto buy car hat works for you.



Everyone showing off


Nascar fans can be disappointed at the conspicuous absence of vroom-vroom, squeal, and screech. But what these cars lack in exhaust notes they make up for with engineering ingenuity and fuel efficiency. They were all the creations of engineering students from colleges and universities from six different nations.



The Competition started last Monday and ended May 3, and it integrated forty different teams.



Technological school



The competition, which has been held annual since 2006, is the creation of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth University, which prides itself on its innovative methods. The school emphasizes three areas of engineering: medicine, energy technologies and complex systems. According to the hybrid competition's web page, "These areas crosscut traditional engineering disciplines and address critical human needs."



Lots of things to see


The idea behind the project is to give career experience to people who want to participate in the competition. It will consist of testing the vehicles for acceleration, braking and handling. It also included the teams making a pitch to potential investors about the automobile.



The main function of the week, however, and the victory coveted by all involved, is Thursday's endurance race. For that function, each car gets equal stores of energy. Automobiles with more battery power obtain less gasoline than do those with smaller electrical storage capacity. The winner of the function is the fastest car that doesn't run out of juice before the end.



The Formula Hybrid International Competition coordinator is Doug Fraser. He said:



"If they finish with a lot of fuel left in their tank ... they’ve wasted it, because they could have used it to go a little faster."



Fraser kept talking, but he started to talk about the Italian team that won the function in 2010.



"When they came in from the end of the endurance event, there wasn’t a thimbleful left of fuel in their tank."



The online streaming service VBOSS steamed the feed live for the first time this year.



About the judges


The majority of the judges in the competition are from car manufacturers. There are also career counselors there to look at resumes along with automotive sector employers. It ends up giving the feel of being a large job fair.



The judging process is very different from the average competition, according to Fraser:



"They’ll look at a car with a student standing there and they may see something interesting on the car and they’ll discuss the design ... and it’s really not unusual at the end of that discussion to see the judge hand the kid a business call and say, you know, give me a call."



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<strong>Big win for everybody</strong>



The competition ends up being an excellent resource for everyone involved. Car makers are able to save money in headhunting fees by having all the talent in one room, and students get a chance to show off their work to prospective automakers. The Formula Hybrid International Competition ends up being good news for all.



Sources



<a href="http://www.nhpr.org/post/hybrid-car-races-are-bridge-students-carmakers">nhpr </a>

<a href="http://www.formula-hybrid.org/">Formula Hybrid</a>

<a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/story/vbrick-systems-and-dartmouth-to-stream-formula-hybrid-competition-2012-05-02">Market Watch </a>