UA Student Engineers Win Two SAE Contests

Akron, Ohio, June 21, 2001 — "Mini" came up big and the Zips continued to fly high at two recent Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) competitions.

These latest achievements help maintain The University of Akron's position as the dominant SAE participant in Ohio. Akron engineering students have won more design competitions than teams from all other Ohio colleges and universities combined, and more than any other university in the nation.

The Mini Baja team took first place in a field of 115 competitors at the 2001 Mini Baja Competition held in Troy, Ohio June 1 - 3. It marked the fifth time that a team from The University of Akron has taken first place in an SAE Mini Baja competition. The UA team had an overall score of 717 and beat runner-up North Carolina State by seven points.

Another UA team won first place in the regular class Aero Design West Competition in Lancaster, Calif., June 8 - 10. The team's plane, called "JerryBird," also won first place for heaviest lift with a payload of 23.9 pounds. The UA students earned their victory on an international level, defeating teams from both Canada and Australia.

Members of the Mini Baja team included:

* Dan Ehmer, 5th year student (North Canton)

* Nick Barnes, 4th year student (Wellington)

* Matt Lux, 5th year student (Kent)

* Jeff Dickerhoof, graduated May 2001 (Massillon)

*John Gibbs, 4th year student (Akron)

* Zach Utz, 5th year student (Uniontown)

* Bill Gross, 5th year student (Akron)

Members of the Aero design team included:

*Dan Basch, 5th year student (North Royalton)

*Lonnie Dong, graduated May 2001 (Cuyahoga Falls)

*Rachid Bendali, graduated May 2001 (Casablanca, Morocco)

*Bryan Larocca, 5th year student (Cortland)

*Matt Fedak, 5th year student (Cuyahoga Falls)

*Joe Anthony, 2nd year student (Barberton)

*Amber Krauss, 4th year student (Massillon)

*Phil Fox, 2nd year student (Medina)

*Mark Lazor, Department of Mechanical Engineering graduate (Cuyahoga Falls)

The UA Formula Car team, which won the national competition in 1999, traveled to Pontiac, Mich., May 16 - 20. The team was again heading toward a top-level finish when a mechanical failure knocked them out of the endurance event. Despite the setback, the team rebounded to finish 32nd in a field of 125.

Mini baja team advisor Dr. Richard Gross, associate professor of mechanical engineering, praised the effort and achievements of the UA teams. "If you give students the opportunity to be creative and to take pride in what they are doing, they will exceed your expectations, and these students have demonstrated this," said Gross.

The University of Akron is the public research university for northern Ohio. Founded in 1870, it is the only Ohio university — public or private — with a science/engineering program ranked among the nation's top five by U.S. News & World Report. The University of Akron excels in such areas as polymer science, global business, marketing and intellectual property law.

Serving approximately 23,000 students, the University offers more than 350 associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral and law degree programs and approximately 100 certificate programs at its main campus in Akron, its Wayne College branch campus in Orrville, and at sites throughout Medina and Summit counties. For more information, visit www.uakron.edu.

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