Building on last year's inaugural season, Purdue's Electric Vehicle Grand Prix will continue to grow and educate students about the potential of electrical energy.
From last year's 17-vehicle race held on the Grand Prix track, EV Grand Prix has expanded to include nearly a dozen universities. Some cars are from U.S. states as far away as California, and others cars are from countries such as England and Ireland. The race will also feature a secondary component that will take place on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as part of the Indy 500's 100th anniversary celebrations.
Purdue's Electric Vehicle Initiative was founded in 2010 and funded by a $6.1 million grant from the Indiana Advanced Electric Vehicle Training and Education Consortium and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Professor Jeff Richardson teaches in the department of electrical and computer engineering technology. He teaches electric vehicle design and fabrication, and the final project of this course is a race-ready vehicle - three of which will participate in this year's race.
"These are the technologies that could grow into prominence in the coming years," Richardson said. "Events like these help fight the consumer stigma that electric vehicles compromise performance for efficiency."
Much of the growth the EV Grand Prix is experiencing can be attributed to increased industrial interest as word has gotten out about the event.
"Companies like GE and General Motors try to connect with these students right away," said Steve Shelby, EV Grand Prix's director of strategic engagement. "They have real-world experience with the technology and that can be a strong asset during their professional careers."
The race itself consists of 100 laps around the same course used for the traditional Grand Prix.
EV Grand Prix has features that differ strongly from its famed counterpart. Prior to racing, teams give presentations to a panel of judges to highlight various engineering and technological aspects of their vehicle. These presentations are the way teams receive their seeding. During the race itself, teams are judged not only on speed, but on the amount of energy they use per lap. At the end of the day, awards are presented to teams with the best presentation, fastest race time and most efficient vehicle, and an overall winner is named as well.
"EV Grand Prix is an outlet for all the knowledge that the students acquire in the classroom," Richardson said. "They end up with a real car they can take out to the track and race. That's just cool."
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