BlackboardSAE Reignites Baja Car in 2010 to Compete Wet World Challenge
The biggest collegiate Baja mini-car competition of the year will be hosted by the Rochester Institute of Technology, June 10-13, 2010. Colleges and universities from around the world compete in the challenge where students design all-terrain vehicles that are judged on their ability to hold up under adverse conditions.
For the first time since 2003, a group of dedicated students from the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering will be representing the college in this historic challenge race, founded in 1976, at the University of South Carolina.
George Nimick, an SAE team member said, "We are starting from scratch this year which makes it a little more difficult but we see this as an opportunity to pave the way for future students to get involved. This is an entirely extra-curricular activity which we do outside of our studies at the college and we are very excited to get this started again."
At the Rochester Baja Challenge, the car students build will be judged on safety, cost effectiveness and design and will be tested in various conditions. There will be a sled-pull event, a timed event, an endurance event and a water event. The cars will be judged on flotation, maneuverability, top speed, and suspension.
A core group of students involved are all juniors in Mechanical Engineering, but SAE is open to all students. George Nimick, Anthony Sabido, Peter Rivera and Jason Rhodan are hoping to re-ignite the tradition of building a mini Baja car and get more people involved as they find out what the SAE chapter at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering has to offer.
The Rochester Baja Wet World Competition has proven to be a tremendous learning experience and even though it is a competition there is often a lot of cooperation and sharing so that all teams succeed, making it a tremendous opportunity for the students.
