Student Teams Prepare For the Ultimate Extracurricular Activity
Fifty vehicles from across the Americas will soon arrive for the 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas(TM) in Houston
HOUSTON, March 18 -- As most high school and college students are busy tackling tests or taking it easy during spring break, student teams from across the Americas are preparing for the ultimate extracurricular activity -- designing, building, and testing a vehicle that travels the farthest distance using the least amount of energy. After months of coordinating designs and constructing vehicles, 43 student teams -- among 9 high schools and 29 universities -- are putting the finishing touches on their vehicles for the 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas energy challenge. These leaders of tomorrow, and their fuel-efficient creations, will soon take to the streets of downtown Houston, March 26-28 around Discovery Green Park. We'll find out if these students can beat the 2,757.1 miles per gallon (1,172.2 kilometers per liter) achieved in 2009 by Laval University, but more than that, the students will grant us a glimpse into the fuels, technologies and transportation of tomorrow.
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"By participating in the Shell Eco-marathon Americas, our team gets to take part in a rewarding program that helps us -- and other teams -- push the boundaries of fuel efficiency," said Maxime Lavigueur, Laval University team, winners of the 2009 Shell Eco-marathon Americas. "We're excited to get to the course in Houston and see if we can beat the mileage our team achieved last year. We're also really looking forward to seeing what the other teams built for 2010. We all bring different knowledge to the competition and getting to see what the other teams design is a big part of the fun."
The Shell Eco-marathon is a global mileage challenge and forum for current and future leaders who are passionate about finding sustainable solutions to the world's energy challenge. Students are asked to design, build and test eco-friendly vehicles that travel further using less energy. After three years in Southern California, the 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas is heading to Houston, the home of Shell's U.S. headquarters. This year, walkers, runners and cyclists at Discovery Green Park will be replaced by cars of the future as the student teams drive their fuel-efficient vehicles on the street track. This is the first time the Shell Eco-marathon Americas will be held on a street track, which presents new challenges in the urban street location, instead of the racetrack teams have competed on in the past. The event is also open to the public this year, so spectators can watch and cheer on the teams, or enjoy a variety of activities, including an art display by The Orange Show or a replica of the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil NASCAR car.
Similar to last year, student teams will participate in either the "Prototype" or "UrbanConcept" categories. For the Prototype category, teams will enter futuristic prototypes -- streamlined vehicles that focus on maximizing fuel efficiency through innovative design elements, such as drag reduction. For the UrbanConcept category, teams will enter more "roadworthy" fuel-efficient vehicles. Aimed at meeting the real-life needs of drivers, these vehicles are closer in appearance to the higher-mileage cars seen on roads today. For both categories, teams can use any conventionally available energy source -- including fuels such as diesel, gasoline and liquid petroleum gas (LPG), as well as alternative fuels such as hydrogen, biomass and solar.
From vehicle design to financing, student teams manage their projects from start to finish. The winning teams in both the Prototype and UrbanConcept categories receive a grand prize of $5,000 USD for their school. Shell will also have several "off-track" awards again this year, including a "People's Choice Award," the "Safety Award," "Technical Innovation Award" and "Eco-friendly Award," among others.
The 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas roster includes 50 vehicles from 43 teams including 9 high schools and 29 universities from Canada, Italy and the United States (Note: some teams listed below have multiple vehicle entries in different categories). The Prototype entries include 29 vehicles powered by combustion engines, two by diesel fuel, one by ethanol, five by fuel cell/hydrogen technology, one by LPG and two by solar power. The UrbanConcept entries include six vehicles powered by combustion engines, two by diesel fuel, one by fuel cell/hydrogen technology and one by solar power.
The complete 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas roster is:
Prototype Category: 40 Vehicles
Combustion Engine: 29 Gasoline Vehicles
School Location Team Name Vehicle Name Energy Type
Benton High
School Benton, La. Tiger Tech TBD Gasoline
California
Polytechnic
State San Luis Cal Poly
University Obispo, Calif. Supermileage Black Widow Gasoline
(one team
with two
entries
in different
categories)
Cedarville Cedarville, Cedarville
University Ohio Supermileage Gold Lightning Gasoline
Cedarville
Cedarville Cedarville, Supermileage
University Ohio 2 Slipstream Gasoline
Colorado
School
of Mines Golden, Colo. Golden Bullet TBD
Dalhousie Halifax, Nova Dalhousie Dalhousie
University Scotia Supermileage Supermileage Gasoline
Grand Rapids Grand Rapids,
High School Minn. G Rock TBD Gasoline
Ecole de
technologie Montreal, Evolution
superieure Quebec Supermileage Evo IV Gasoline
Louisiana
Tech La Tech
University Ruston, La. Eco Car De Leo Gasoline
(one team
with three
entries, one
in this
category)
Loyola
Marymount Los Angeles, LMU Eco Motor
University Calif. Sports Club Gen3 Gasoline
Loyola LMU Senior
Marymount Los Angeles, Mechanical
University Calif. Engineers The True Gen3 Gasoline
Mater Dei
Mater Dei Supermileage 6th Gen and
High School Evansville, Ind. Team TBD Gasoline
(one team
with three
vehicles,
two in
this category)
Monrovia
High School The Green
ROP Monrovia, Calif. Team Green Machine Gasoline
Northern
Arizona Lumberjack
University Flagstaff, Ariz. Racing Cinder Gasoline
Rose-
Hulman
Institute Rose-Hulman
of Efficient
Technology Terre Haute, Ind. Vehicles RHEV Gasoline
Rose-
Hulman
Institute Rose-Hulman
of Efficient
Technology Terre Haute, Ind. Vehicles Team RHEV 74 Gasoline
Universite Alerion
Laval Laval, Quebec Supermileage NTF 4.0 Gasoline
University
of Cal
California, SuperMileage
Berkeley Berkeley, Calif. Vehicle Team Bear Tracks Gasoline
University
of
California,
Los Los Angeles, UCLA
Angeles Calif. Supermileage TearDrop Mark II Gasoline
University
of
California,
Santa Santa Barbara,
Barbara Calif. UCSB Gauchos Gaucho IV Gasoline
University
of
Colorado, CU-
Boulder Boulder, Colo. L.A.T.E.R 2 F Cat Gasoline
University
of
Houston Houston, Texas SAECO 2 Shasta-X Gasoline
University
of
Illinois
Champaign/ The Galloping
Urbana Urbana, Ill. Eco- Illini Ghost Gasoline
University UOttawa
of Ottawa Ottawa, Ontario Supermileage Mk I Gasoline
University
of Texas,
El Paso El Paso, Texas Saiko kikai TBD Gasoline
University
of Toronto
University Toronto, Eco-marathon
of Toronto Ontario Club Ayo Gasoline
Wawasee
High
School Syracuse, Ind. Warriors Repta-lathe Gasoline
Wright
State Raider
University Dayton, Ohio Engineering Eco-Raider Gasoline
Combustion Engine: Two Diesel Vehicles
School Location Team Name Vehicle Name Energy Type
George M.
Schurr High Montebello,
School Calif. Spartans The Spartan Diesel
(one team with
two entries)
Granite Falls Granite Falls,
High School Wash. Shop Girls Iron Maiden Diesel
Combustion Engine: One Ethanol Vehicle
School Location Team Name Vehicle Name Energy Type
Durand High Durand
School Durand, Wis. Motorsports Midnight Sun Ethanol
Fuel Cell: Five Vehicles
School Location Team Name Vehicle Name Energy Type
Cicero North- Performance
Syracuse Engineering
High School Cicero, N.Y. Team Pure Speed Hydrogen
Lamar Beaumont,
University Texas LU Eco Racers Kardinalstein Hydrogen
North
Carolina
A&T State Greensboro,
University N.C. Aggie Eco Car Hydrogen
Penn State University Blood, Sweat
University Park, Pa. and Gears HFV Hydrogen
(one team
with two
entries)
University
of Houston Houston, Texas Element 1 Rat Rod 1 Hydrogen
LPG: One Vehicle
School Location Team Name Vehicle Name Energy Type
George M.
Schurr High
School Montebello, Calif. Spartans mach 1 LPG
(one team with
two entries)
Solar: Two Vehicles
School Location Team Name Vehicle Name Energy Type
Purdue West Lafayette, Purdue Solar
University Ind. Racing Pulsar Solar
Politecnico
di Milano Milan, Italy Mecc-SUN Apollo Solar
UrbanConcept Category: 10 Vehicles
Combustion Engine: Six Vehicles
School Location Team Name Vehicle Name Energy Type
California
Polytechnic
State San Luis Obispo, Cal Poly
University Calif. Supermileage Capax Gasoline
(one team
with two
entries
in
different
categories)
Louisiana
Tech Red and
University Ruston, La. Tech EcoCar Blue Gasoline
(one team
with three
entries,
two in
this
category)
Mater Dei Mater Dei
High Evansville, Supermileage
School Ind. Team George Gasoline
(one team
with three
vehicles,
one in
this
category)
Polytechnic
Institute
of NYU Brooklyn, N.Y. CONCEPT ZERO CONCEPT ZERO Gasoline
University
of British
Columbia Vancouver, BC UBCST Argo Gasoline
Diesel: Two Vehicles
School Location Team Name Vehicle Name Energy Type
Granite
Falls
High Granite Falls, Phillipe's
School Wash. Urban Autos Bulldozer Diesel
Penn
State University Park, Blood, Sweat and
University Pa. Gears Caroline Diesel
(one team
with two
entries)
Fuel Cell: One Vehicle
School Location Team Name Vehicle Name Energy Type
University of Mizzou Hydrogen
Missouri Columbia, Miss. Car Team Tigergen II Hydrogen
Solar: One Vehicle
School Location Team Name Vehicle Name Energy Type
The University Arizona Solar
of Arizona Tucson, Ariz. Racing Team SolarCat Solar
To help ensure the 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas is a successful event for all the student participants, Shell is pleased to welcome the 2010 event sponsors, including the City of Houston, Autodesk, Michelin, Pennzoil Ultra, and SKF USA Inc. The 2010 Americas event will also welcome others including Kateri Callahan, President of Alliance to Save Energy, and Peter Diamandis, Founder of the X Prize Foundation, who will join Shell CEO, Peter Voser, and Shell Oil Company President, Marvin Odum, for a series of events to discuss the energy challenge and promote action to achieve a sustainable energy future.
With more than two successful decades in Europe, this mileage challenge came back to the U.S. as the Shell Eco-marathon Americas in April 2007. The Shell Eco-marathon concept started as the Shell Mileage Marathon in 1939 between employees of Shell at a research laboratory in Wood River, Illinois.
In Europe, the 2010 Shell Eco-marathon project will take place at the EuroSpeedway in Lausitz, Germany in early May. The 2009 European event attracted teams from 29 countries, with the winning teams hailing from France, Denmark and Norway. In Asia, more than 100 teams are gearing up for the inaugural Shell Eco-marathon Asia, taking place in early July at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.
For more information on the Shell Eco-marathon Americas, please visit www.shell.com/ecomarathon.
Shell Oil Company, including its consolidated companies and its share in equity companies, is one of America's leading oil and natural gas producers, natural gas marketers, gasoline marketers and petrochemical manufacturers. Shell, a leading oil and gas producer in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, is a recognized pioneer in oil and gas exploration and production technology. Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Shell Group, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies, employing approximately 104,000 people and operating in more than 110 countries and territories.
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