By Becky Gillette, Mississippi Business Journal, Feature Article, May 5, 2016. Students from Mississippi State University (MSU) are working on some of the most important automotive engineering problems of today by participating in the national EcoCAR3 competition that challenges teams from 16 universities in North America to be the most efficient and innovative in improving hybrid vehicle energy efficiency while reducing emissions and maintaining performance.
The competition in mid-May will be the fourth EcoCAR advanced vehicle technology competition (AVTC) for MSU. The competition is primarily sponsored by General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy, with others sponsors such as software, hardware and automotive companies donating equipment, funds and expertise to help the teams.
“Our EcoCAR teams are on the cutting edge of technology,” said EcoCAR alumni Matthew Doude, program manager-powertrain engineering and business development officer for the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) at MSU. “For example, circa 2010 we developed a way to improve vehicle efficiency through the way we controlled the two electric motors driving the front and rear wheels. We also developed a 13-inch touchscreen infotainment system which allowed you to control nearly everything in the vehicle. Both of those technologies are found in today’s production Tesla vehicles.”