Spring Break
Drexel places in eco-friendly engineering races
Shyam Patel
Issue date: 4/24/09 Section: News
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Drexel entered two three-wheeler eco-friendly vehicles for the competition: the DragonWagon, versions 2.0 and 3.0. While both vehicles have motors and can run on solar power and fuel-cell technology, they still had pedals.
Though the DragonWagons did not place first, students still lauded the competitors' efforts.
"Coming from a family of engineers, I'm really glad that Drexel did so well and that there are competitions such as these that allow students to apply their skills in real world settings," Sukhdeep Singh, a freshman biology major, said.
Though the 3.0 was made of titanium, making it lighter and faster and in theory, it placed fourth while the 2.0 took second.
Bradley Layton, a professor of mechanical engineering at Drexel University and adviser for the engineering students competing at the challenge, said the DragonWagon 3.0 is now fully operational and could be faster than the 2.0.
However, this was not the case at the competition as disputes among members of Drexel's team ultimately hindered the vehicle's performance.
Last year, Drexel placed first in the multi-rider subcategory of Sprint - one of the three subcategories of the single and multi-rider divisions involving a straight 100-meter race.
Because last year's team did not win any overall awards, Layton said the team's success this time transcends last year's performance in spite of having to compete against teams from countries around the world including Ecuador, India, and Venezuela.
There was also the addition of a water hazard in the utility subcategory of this year's competition. In utility, the constructed vehicle must, with as much speed as possible, make it through rough terrain including an unpaved surface, a steep ramp and a large curb. The last of the subcategories, endurance, was a test for which vehicle could go the farthest.
One award was given overall for each of the divisions - single-rider and multi-rider - while one was given for those that placed first in each of the three subcategories.
More than 50 colleges and universities competed and nearly 1,000 people were present. Philadelphia's mayor, Michael Nutter, gave opening statements at the event.
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