We're Number One!
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Human Powered Vehicle Team
once again showcased its legendary engineering skills,
competitiveness and sportsmanship to earn first-place honors at the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers' East Coast racing
competition, 28-29 April 2012 at Grove City College in
Pennsylvania.
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East Coast Champions: Members of Rose-Hulman Institute of
Technology's team are once again tops among North American
engineering colleges and universities in the American Society of
Mechanical Engineering's East Coast Competition. The team has now
won eight of the past nine ASME east or west coast
competitions.
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This marks the eighth time in the past nine ASME competitions
that Rose-Hulman has captured top honors. The team will go for a
sweep of this year's racing events when it competes in the West
Coast competition on May 4-5 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
"It is an amazing accomplishment for the team to maintain such
high standards over multiple 'generations' of students," stated
team faculty advisor Michael Moorhead, Ph.D., assistant professor
of mechanical engineering. "This year's team is composed primarily
of freshmen and sophomores, with only a few members remembering our
earlier victories."
Rose-Hulman earned first place in the design portion of the East
Coast competition, with the team's hybrid regenerative
braking/electronic drive apparatus receiving second-place honors as
this year's new innovation design feature.
When it came to racing, the team also stood out among the 29
competing colleges and universities, including top competitors from
the University of Toronto, Missouri University of Science and
Technology, Olin College (Mass.) and University of Central
Florida.
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This year's team leaders, Petras Swissler and Ethan
Rockett
in 2011 discussing strategy, design, and other teams. |
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The top-seeded team of Crystal Hurtle and Claire Stark swept
through the competition to win the female speed drag racing event.
Then, Patrick Woolfenden and Drew Robertson placed second to
Missouri S&T in the men's speed event. Rose-Hulman showcased
its sportsmanship by allowing their longtime rivals a chance to
make mechanical repairs before the final double-elimination races.
The team eventually won the first showdown, but lost an exciting
winner-take-all sprint through the crowd-filled streets of Grove
City.
This set up an exciting 2.5-hour endurance race through the
twisty, narrow roads of Grove City's Memorial Park. Rose-Hulman had
figured out it needed to finish among the top four teams to win the
overall competition. Hurtle, Woolfenden, Robertson and Sam Throne
navigated around several crashes to finish a strong third behind
Missouri S&T and Olin College.
"Our consistently strong performances, from the design
competition through the endurance race, put us on top of the
overall standings," stated Moorhead.
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| Speedy Vehicle: Rose-Hulman's human-powered vehicle
sprinted to first-place honors in the female and second place in
the male races at this year's ASME East Coast Competition through
the streets in Grove City, Pa. |
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In another display of sportsmanship, Rose-Hulman team member
Claire Stark volunteered to give Missouri S&T's team a female
rider for the endurance race. The team's lone female drive was not
able to complete her required minimum number of laps after being
shaken up in a crash.
"We gave up one of our team members for the only team that had a
practical chance of beating us in the competition, and I'm pretty
sure there was no soft-pedaling involved (by Stark)," stated
Moorhead.
Not surprisingly, Rose-Hulman received the Sportsmanship Award
for sacrificing certain victory in the men's drag race in the name
of fair competition.
This year's team was led by Petras Swissler, president; Ethan
Rockett, vice president; Drew Robertson, treasurer; and Harrison
Coons, public relations coordinator. Team members included Simon
Burns, Erin Campbell, Jeff Dovalovsky, Ben Griffith, Crystal
Hurtle, Steven Keltner, Maura Lakowski, Garrett Meyer, Melissa
Murray, Matt Skorina, Claire Stark, Travis Tatlock, Sam Throne,
Louis Vaught and Patrick Woolfenden.
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