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Clean Snowmobile Challenge Kicks Off This Week
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Teams of student engineers from across the U.S. will converge on Michigan Tech next week, custom sleds in tow, for the SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge.
For the first time, the challenge will take place at the Keweenaw Research Center, home of 500 acres of proving grounds and the Midwest's finest winter driving test track.
The Clean Snowmobile Challenge is the Society of Automotive Engineers' newest collegiate design competition. Teams of engineering students from participating schools take a perfectly good stock snowmobile and then reengineer it to reduce emissions and noise while maintaining or improving performance.
"We've got a dozen very talented teams representing some great schools coming here, and we're really looking forward to showing them the Copper Country," said Jay Meldrum, director of the Keweenaw Research Center.
Registration starts Wednesday. After safety inspections Thursday, the competition begins in earnest at 11 a.m. with an endurance run from the center, located near the Houghton County Memorial Airport, up the snowmobile trail to Copper Harbor. The course will be monitored by the MTU Sledheads student group, who will assist teams that fall behind, and the local chapter of Amateur Radio Emergency Services. "We'll be there to report any sleds that drop out, so that folks can give them a hand," said ARES member Becki Schellinger, a Michigan Tech student.
Friday is given over to noise, emissions, acceleration and braking tests.
On Saturday, the public--especially snowmobiling enthusiasts--is invited to come out to the Keweenaw Research Center to watch the teams thread their sleds through the Snow Cross Course. The handling event is set for 9:30 a.m. to noon. There's no seating; viewers can stand near the course.
The testing events complete, the teams will put their sleds on display from 3 to 5 p.m. outside the Memorial Union on the Michigan Tech campus. The public is invited to stop by, see the snowmobiles and talk to the students. The awards banquet follows at 6 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom. The cost is $25 per person; contact Gail Sanchez at 487-2911 for ticket information.
Teams participating in the Clean Snowmobile Challenge include Clarkson University in New York, Colorado State University, Idaho State University, Kettering University in Flint, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State University-Mankato, State University of New York at Buffalo, the University of Idaho, the University of Waterloo in Ontario, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and the University of Wyoming. |
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