Purdue University is one of 15 North American engineering schools participating in EcoCAR 2: Plugging in to the Future, a three-year competition sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and General Motors (GM), that offers students real-world experience in an effort to educate the next generation of automotive engineers.

EcoCAR 2 challenges university students to reduce the environmental impact of a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, donated by GM, without compromising performance, safety and consumer acceptability. The competition began in 2011 and is currently entering its second year.

Sunday Purdue University students and faculty members headed to Yuma, Arizona to participate in the year two competition. There are a total of 14 students representing Purdue in the competition as well as 3 faculty members. Dean Bertoline will also be joining the EcoMakers later in the week. The students come from a variety of Purdue academic units, including the Colleges of Business, Technology, Engineering, and Communication.

In Yuma, the EcoMakers car will go through several different inspections at the General Motors proving grounds. After a week of tests and inspections, the team will head to San Diego, California for final presentations from the technical, business, and
communications teams.

The EcoMakers have already made their mark on the competition. Last night at welcome night, the Purdue Control team won the second place award with less than a point difference with the first place team. This was great news and a great way to start out the competition for the Purdue EcoMakers!

The 14 other universities Purdue will be competing against in the EcoCAR 2 challenge include: California State University – Los Angeles, Colorado State University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Mississippi State University, North Carolina State University, The Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, University of Tennessee – Knoxville, University of Victoria, University of Washington, University of Waterloo, Virginia Tech and Wayne State University.