Winning Season

After competing in three international Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) events this year, UMBC finished in second place for the 2010 season. The UMBC Baja team is the number one team in the U.S. (first place went to Ecole de Technologie Superieure (ETS) of Montreal.).

“We finished in the top ten in all three events. Only seven other teams in the history of Baja have done this,” said Steve Storck, a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering and captain of the Baja team. As a long- time member, this is a long-awaited achievement.

In April the UMBC Baja team traveled to Greenville, South Carolina, to compete in the first SAE Baja race of the year. Along with 100 international teams, they competed in five dynamic events: acceleration, towing, suspension and traction and maneuverability. There were also static events such as design and cost. Impressively, UMBC placed 15th in the design category, and took the number one place for most cost-effective vehicle. In the end, UMBC placed sixth in the overall competition, the highest ranking in the history of the program.

In May, the team, comprised of 11 UMBC mechanical engineering students, competed in the second SAE event of the year in Bellingham, Washington. UMBC went up against over 100 international teams and for the first time the team took second place overall in the design event. They were one of 34 teams to finish the maneuverability course, and went home with an eighth place title, another top ten finish.

In June the team traveled to Rochester, New York for the last SAE event. For the first time, the UMBC Baja team competed in a race that required water maneuverability. The system the team put together was built only days before the race, and finished 31st in that event. Once again, UMBC took first place for cost effectiveness.

After all three events had passed, UMBC held the title of second place overall, and number one in the U.S.

“We were told we were doing things that no other team had ever done,” said Caroline Scheck, who is the only female member and project manager of the UMBC Baja team. She is entering her second semester as a master’s student this year.

The innovation of the UMBC team’s design came from the need to budget and find new ways to improve on the vehicle without compromising cost effectiveness. The challenges they faced — and the long hours spent coming up with inexpensive alternatives and reinventing parts — paid off.

“The program really pushes the envelope in terms of hands-on experience you can’t get in class. Many of our team members get offers from top companies,” said Storck. One of the companies is their sponsor, Lockheed Martin, which supports the team financially along with the mechanical engineering department. One member, Sam Markkula, is currently an employee there.

“We learn everything from budgeting, to shipping, to building a gear box from scratch,” explained Storck.

Scheck, who has redesigned the gear box that will be used in the upcoming racing season, said the Baja team has provided her with an in-depth, hands-on engineering experience that would have been tough to get inside a classroom.

Building the gear box was just one of many challenges for the Baja team. They earned their number one spot with some innovative thinking after being faced with a tight budget and the struggle to find people interested enough to dedicate early mornings and late nights to developing the vehicles.

As team members graduate or get tied up by other obligations, the team worries who will keep UMBC Baja speeding along. Not only is it difficult to keep new undergraduates who show up to meetings interested in the program, but it’s also tricky generating attention for the team.

“The win this year will help generate interest. But getting someone to a race, that will hook them. It’s addicting,” says Storck. “You don’t need to know anything about vehicle design to be a part of the team — the demands of Baja competition cut across majors from mechanical engineering to business to art. But getting people to that first race, that’s the challenge.”

Team members Caroline Scheck, Steve Storck, Chuck Herbert, Sal Nimer, Dave Outen, Rich Glendening, Eric Meyer, Justin Jones, Pete Mech, James Clerkin and Sam Markkula are enjoying their title and look forward to events for 2011, and redesigning and improving the car.

(8/20/10)