University High-School Students Visit CETA’s fSAE Car

On May 29, five students from the University High School of Science and Engineering visited the fSAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) race car and the space where it is being built by the fSAE club. Steve Osuch, Electrical Engineering major, president of the fSAE club, and captain of the club’s racing team, explained the fSAE and demonstrated the car and some of processes and machinery the club has used to build it. The high-school students asked many technical questions, demonstrating their knowledge of cars, and were interested in getting involved in activities like fSAE.

Jonathan Martinez, Simeon McCloud, Tim Nicholson, Tyrell Jones, Jason Siegal (University High-School teacher), Andrew Thorpe, and Steve Osuch (far right) with the race car.

The tour was conducted in the United Tool and Die (UTD)building that company has allowed the club to use. UTD, a major sponsor of CETA’s fSAE activities, also has contributed time on machinery needed to build the car and training on the machines. Ready Tool, another local company and sponsor, has also contributed time, machinery use, and training, “invaluable services,” Steve says. Other sponsors include the University’s Student Government Association and Paul Newman, a long-time sponsor of the club.

As Steve explained to the students, the fSAE car has cost approximately $20,000 to build. It’s a prototype, with many parts hand made to conform to the 200-page rule book the national fSAE organization distributes to the participants in the yearly competition, one of the largest collegiate competitions of its kind in the United States. So the students have to raise the money needed to build the car and get it and themselves to the national competition, design the car, build it, and then compete. They are advised in all their efforts by Dr. Frank Lahey, a retired CETA professor, but they must do the work themselves.

Steve explains some of the requirements for the head rest and height clearances required by the rulebook.

The car that Steve showed to the high-school students went into design in June 2007. Then CETA students Brett Tufano; John Scales, assistant captain of the team and lead fabricator; Eric Rickert; and Nick Gervasi; all Mechanical Engineering majors; began to build the car in August. Along with approximately 90 teams from other schools, including teams from Canada, Brazil and Australia, the CETA car team will participate in the national fSAE competition to be held June 25 through 28 in Fontana, California, at the Californian Speedway.

The fSAE car as the students saw it on May 29, 2008

The national competition involves more than just racing the car. Each team has to defend the design of their vehicle and their engineering decisions to judges from the major U.S. car companies. Then they participate in various contests including speed and endurance.

Steve told the students that one of the most important things he learned from working on the fSAE car is how to deal with failure. “Just because something ‘should’ work doesn’t mean it will,” he says, so you learn to evaluate the problem and fix it.

He also agreed with Cliff Scorso, Assistant Dean of CETA, who told the high-school students that whether they’re interested in mechanical or electrical engineering, they should learn something of the other discipline as well because so much engineering today involves both mechanical and electrical knowledge and skills. Having courses in both will help them find a job, as will participation in a club like fSAE where participants develop hands-on skills. Steve told the students that he got the job with Northeast Utilities that he will be starting in July because of his fSAE experience, which demonstrated not just hands-on ability but also project management skills.

Please check this space for more news about the fSAE team, competition results, and the University High School.