updated February 18, 2011

Innovation, creativity and competition will be featured during the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Human Powered Vehicle Challenge international racing event, being hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, on April 29-May 1 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Greatest Spectacle In Human Powered Racing: The famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be the site of this year’s American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Human Powered Vehicle Challenge event, being hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

The ASME competition brings together enterprising engineering students from colleges and universities throughout the world to demonstrate efficient, sustainable and practical human-powered vehicles. These prototype vehicles could be used for everyday use such as commuting to work and transporting goods from market.

 
As many as 40 teams will participate in three days of testing and competition at IMS. The event will include four events: a design event, where teams are judged on their application of sound engineering principles and practices toward a vehicle design; a sprint race, testing vehicle speed; a utility endurance event, judging the vehicle’s practically, performance and reliability; and a speed endurance event, testing vehicle speed and reliability over a long distance. Scores from each event will determine an overall team score and event champion.

 
The ASME event is taking place as IMS continues its Centennial Era honoring the 100th anniversaries of the opening of the track in 1909 and the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911.

“The ASME Human Powered Vehicle Challenge is just one more way to highlight the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s legacy as an incubator and proving ground of transportation innovation for more than a century,” said Jeff Belskus, IMS president and chief executive officer. “We’re pleased Rose-Hulman is bringing this event and the future generation of automotive engineers to IMS.”

Sleek Racers: Human powered vehicles are innovative devices propelled solely by human power that will be challenged in sprint and endurance events during the upcoming ASME event.

Rose-Hulman President Matt Branam expressed gratitude to IMS for its participation in the event, and said the Speedway’s heritage as The Greatest Race Course in the World is a perfect fit for the ASME HPVC event. He pointed out that the Speedway is owned by Terre Haute’s Hulman-George family, which has also played a significant role in the development of Rose-Hulman as the nation’s top college for undergraduate engineering education.

“We’re fortunate to have the Speedway’s generosity and support for Rose-Hulman and our students,” Branam noted. “Our students learn by doing. Racing their own design, built with their own hands, at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be the ultimate learning experience for our students and others throughout the world.”

 
Rose-Hulman is the three-time defending HPVC national champions after having top-scoring performances in the east and west coast events during the 2008-10 competitions. Colleges expected to challenge Rose-Hulman for top honors this spring will be Missouri University of Science & Technology (Rolla, Mo.), University of Toronto, Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering (Mass.), University of Wisconsin, Drexel University (Pa.), California Polytechnic–San Luis Obispo and Ohio Northern University.

Greatest Spectacle In Human Powered Racing: The famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be the site of this year’s American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Human Powered Vehicle Challenge event, being hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

However, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s popularity may also attract international teams from India, Venezuela and Ecuador to this year’s ASME HPVC event, according to Rose-Hulman Human Powered Vehicle Team Faculty Advisor Michael Moorhead, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.

“Having the opportunity to compete at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be an once-in-a-lifetime experience for engineering students throughout the country,” stated Moorhead. “This could become the signature event for collegiate human-powered racing.”

Human-powered vehicles are sleek, high tech and innovative devices propelled solely by human power. There are no motors or stored energy. Most entries take the form of recumbent bicycles or tricycles with aerodynamics fairings to overcome wind resistance. And, they’re swift. Veteran rider Sam Whittingham currently holds the human powered speed record of 82.3 mph. He will be the keynote speaker at the HPVC East’s awards banquet and may make exhibition races at the event. Find out more about ASME’s human powered vehicle events at www.asme.org/Events/Contests/HPV/Human_Powered_Vehicle.cfm

“This ASME competition brings classroom engineering theory and design to actual concept and fabrication,” said ASME President Robert T. Simmons. “These highly talented students learn to work in a team environment, thus providing them with the tools to be successful in the engineering workforce.”

 
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. The not-for-profit professional organization enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society.

The ASME Human Powered Vehicle Challenge will be one of the events celebrating automotive innovation in 2011 at IMS. The Emerging Tech Day, showcasing renewable technologies for the automotive industry, also will take place on May 7 at IMS. Find out more about the Speedway at www.brickyard.com.