Three challenges
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Designing to win
Airplanes, race cars, kinetic sculptures, underwater vehicles: You name it, the projects are all fascinating engineering challenges that our UC Davis students are working on. [ More on design team list… ]
Clubs put young engineers on the fast track
The UC Davis College of Engineering supports its student-run clubs and design teams — and for good reason.
Groups like Formula SAE (sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers) and Micro Mouse annually rank among the top three schools nationwide, while others, like Concrete Canoe, are steadily climbing the ranks each year.
Student participation is not just about winning competitions. They work on these projects for the experience and to learn tools of the trade that will later help them in their careers.
Most design teams, like Concrete Canoe and Micro Mouse, spend an entire school year on their projects, while others, like Formula SAE, devote two full years. The daily effort required differs depending on the project and the competition schedule.
In any case, members of these clubs and design groups are enthusiastic about participation.
“It all really depends on how dedicated you are,” says third-year Concrete Canoe member Michelle Fong. “We don’t mandate that people come. People want to come.”
On the home page: A UC Davis student test drives a recent Formula SAE race car that students designed and constructed for SAE’s international collegiate design competition. (Tim Wong/UC Davis photo)