“Racing” to Get Involved at Purdue

By -
A great way to get involved on campus is through the various car clubs that Purdue has to offer. Not only are you gaining valuable experience with working in a team, members of these clubs are designing and building something that is directly related to engineering and their interests. By participating in the building of a car, one can learn everything from the technical skills of machining various parts to soft skills of project management and communication.
           
            Some of the major car clubs on campus include Purdue Baja Racing, Purdue Formula SAE, ChemE Car and Purdue Electric Racing. There are unique features and requirements each of these teams have to include. For the ChemE Car team, the biggest difference is that the car is powered by a chemical reaction, rather than a motor. Additionally, the ChemE car is much smaller (the size of a remote control car) compared to cars that are designed to be driven by people.

            Purdue Baja Racing designs a vehicle made for off-roading. With these competitions, every car must use the same engine, with major variations coming in the physical design of the vehicle. This is very different than the ChemE car whose source of energy is a large point of focus in variations between teams. Purdue Formula SAE is one of a few race car teams on campus. Their focus is the design and building of a small, open wheel car. They also attend competitions to show off their design!

            What makes the Purdue Electric Racing team unique is that their Formula car is powered with a 300V, 90kW battery, rather than an engine. In addition to designing and building every single component of the car, the students involved learn manufacturing and CAD skills that can be brought into real-world industries. According to their Vice President, Claire Nelson, this past season, Purdue Electric Racing has placed 3rd in the Formula North competition and 7th in the Formula Lincoln competition. Between these two competitions the team has compiled 7 trophies!

A recent race car designed and built by the Purdue Electric Racing team here on campus.

            If you’re looking for a way to get involved on campus right away, consider joining a race car team. These clubs will help you develop so many necessary skills for when you are ready to tackle an internship, co-op or even full-time job! Going to competitions allows you to see all of your hard work in action and can be a very rewarding experience. Go check it out!

- Madeleine Hollinger
WE Link Recruitment Project Committee, Blog Group
Purdue ChemE 2021

Stay Connected With WIEP!
Facebook: Purdue Women in Engineering
Twitter: @purduewiep 
Instagram: @purduewiep
Blog: http://purduewiep.blogspot.com/
Email: welink@purdue.edu
Use the hashtag #PurdueWIEP on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!



Purdue Women in Engineering

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Understanding Purdue Housing

By -
Image
One of the many concerns incoming freshmen have is what to do regarding their housing options. In addition to the roommate selection process, you may be interested in seeing your on-campus options in terms of amenities and the communities available within the building. For example, when I accepted my admission to Purdue as a freshman, I knew I was interested in a standard double that I had experienced at a summer college program. To ensure my University Residences housing, I applied to Vertically Integrated Projects so that I would be able to pursue a research project as a freshman while also guaranteeing my housing within Earhart Hall through the connected learning community. For more information on learning communities, read our previous blog! Many freshmen will live in a residence hall, even if they are not in a specific learning community. Now, as a Resident Assistant or RA in Earhart Hall, I have been trained on the term “residence hall”; our halls go beyond a traditional “dormito...
Read more

Top 10 Extracurriculars Purdue Students Want You to Join Outside of Engineering

By -
Image
1. Purdue University Dance Marathon (PUDM):  The biggest student-run organization on campus! You can join as a dancer, where you get to fundraise leading up to the 18-hour long event or be even more involved and join a committee! Some of the committees include Riley Relations, where you fundraise to sponsor events for the Riley families throughout the year & are paired with a Riley family for the night of the event, Special Events Committee, where you organize 5K’s and other events around campus throughout the year, and so much more! 2. Boiler Gold Rush (BGR):  Whether it be as a new student, a team leader (TL), or even a Supervisor, there are so many ways to get involved with BGR! This week-long event is held the week before classes start in August. As a new student, it is your first chance to meet your new colleagues and participate in many games, fountain runs, and other fun activities throughout the week. It is also a great way to familiarize yourself with the ...
Read more

A very (sub)objective review of dining options at Purdue

By -
Image
Jenn and her friends after the Thankgiving dinner Food is an integral part of our day. For some people, the very first thing they do in the morning is eat breakfast. I personally prefer my cup of coffee to a stack of waffles. Nonetheless, food has the power to pick up a bad mood, enhance a good mood, and even ease the stress you are feeling about exams and homework. The awareness I have of how food impacts my mood is recently found since I started college in August. at home I usually came home to my mom or dad making something delicious in the crockpot. Suddenly I arrive at college and there are so many options that it can get overwhelming at times to figure out what to eat. Navigating the dining options at college did not seem like something I should have been worried about, yet it was something that took a month of experimenting to perfect.  The key is knowing where to go and what is consistent. I decided to help you out and give you some insight into how I view each dining optio...
Read more