The Racing Mocs, UTC’s student-led Baja team, placed in the top 25 of more than 100 teams at the Society of Engineers (SAE) Midwest international competition in Madison, Wisconsin. The competition ends a spectacular run for the team who placed in the top ten in their past two contests this year.
In April of this year, the team placed tenth out of more than 100 teams at the SAE international competition in Auburn, Alabama. The team also finished first out of 100 entries in the sales presentation competition. In May, the team competed in another SAE international competition in Portland, Oregon, where they placed eighth overall, their highest finish ever.
In the Wisconsin competition, the team fared well in the design competition. Ranking 12th, it was among the best performances the team achieved in this particular event.
For Emily Stark, a senior mechanical engineering major and president of the campus SAE organization, several things contributed to the team’s success this year.
“We looked at old cars past teams made, and focused on improving on old car designs instead of reinventing the car all over again,” she said.
The experience of the team was also a contributing factor, Stark said.
“The team had several team members that had previously been to competitions, so they had a very good idea of what the competitions were like and what they actually required. The team really came together to focus a large team into making the car the best the school has ever had,” she continued.
This year’s team members are: Scotty Adams, Jay Baker, Raymond Butts, Kevin Brown, James Fogo, Joshua Griffith, Michael Newman, Rebecca Palmer, Alex Reiners, Rachel Rifenberg, Michael Sherrit, Stephen Snyder, Emily Stark, and Joel Wood. Snyder was this year’s team captain.
Faculty advisers are Dr. Will Sutton, Dean of the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science, and Karl Fletcher, Manager of Technical Support for the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science. Dr. Phil Kazemersky, Professor in the UTC College of Engineering and Computer Science, taught the students in the Interdisciplinary Design class.
