Akron, Ohio, June 9, 2004 — University of Akron mechanical engineering students continue to be formidable competitors in Society of Automotive Engineers' (SAE) collegiate design competitions with a top 10 performance in the Formula SAE annual race car design competition.
UA's team placed seventh out of 134 teams from 13 countries and five continents.
Adding to the team's triumph was the awarding of the 2004 Carroll Smith Mentor's Cup to Dr. Richard Gross, UA associate professor of mechanical engineering, as the “outstanding Formula SAE faculty adviser.” The award is presented by Sports Car Club of America.
The Formula SAE Competition challenges students to design and build a formula-style race car that meets specific program requirements. The vehicles are judged in both static and dynamic events. Static events include engineering design, cost analysis and a marketing presentation. Dynamic events include acceleration, skid-pad, autocross and fuel economy, as well as high-performance track endurance.
UA's top five performances in the dynamic events of skid-pad, acceleration and autocross earned it a spot with four other teams to compete for the Road & Track Triathlon Award. The competition will be featured in the magazine's November issue.
Team captain Dave Farwell of Randolph attributes UA's overall top 10 performance to solid teamwork.
“Great teamwork was key to our success,” says Farwell. “We were able to get our car done early, which gave us adequate testing time to ensure reliability.”
In addition to Farwell, Formula SAE team members are: Dave Bordwell of Copley, Nathan Clark of Brecksville, Franco Filice of Brunswick, Kristen Gamauf of Wadsworth, Tim Gullatta of Parma, Andy Haidet of Alliance, Sam Henderson of Canfield, Jeff Kavali of Rootstown, Brandon Kirby of Copley, Philip Klein of Green, Brad Krempasky II of Bellaire, Chris Mathe of Chardon, Rob Pacotti of Avon Lake, Craig Palcic of Wadsworth, Ben Pearch of New Philadelphia, Dan Sayre of Doylestown, John Shuman of Canal Fulton, Jason Stuffel of Uniontown, Andy Svenson of Wadsworth, Steve Taylor of Lorain, Randy Tegowski of Parma, Jared Utz of North Canton, Anthony Varca of Massillon and Brian Watson of Kingsville.
The students are pleased that their adviser was recognized for his dedication and hard work by receiving the Mentor's Cup. An Akron resident, Dr. Richard Gross is a touchstone in UA's College of Engineering. He joined the University in 1967. In 1989, he helped UA students establish a student section of the Society of Automotive Engineers. Since that time Gross has served as the group's primary adviser, and UA engineering students have gained respect for the college and the university from better-known and much larger engineering schools.
In May 2000, Gross received a UA Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award, and he has twice received the UA College of Engineering's Chemstress Consultant Co. Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award.
UA's Formula SAE seventh-place finish adds to the college's dominance as a leading national SAE chapter. UA students have won more design competitions in the past decade than teams from any other Ohio university. Akron students have set world records and have captured 13 first-place Aero Design awards, six firsts in Mini Baja Competition and a 1999 first place in the prestigious Formula SAE Competition.
“Our students have assembled a trophy case that is the envy of most other engineering schools,” says Dr. George Haritos, dean of the UA College of Engineering. “But the significance goes far beyond that. Student participation in design teams contributes immensely to their professional development and provides them with confidence that will carry to their first career job and beyond.”
