Nothing may be sweeter than that first taste of victory, but the second triumph may have been more gratifying — and dramatic — for Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s team in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Human Powered Vehicle East Coast Challenge.
The swift vehicle needed every inch of its sleek carbon fiber body to top the regional competition for the second straight year.
Rose-Hulman nosed out rival Missouri University of Science & Technology at the finish line of the female drag race to win the prestigious engineering design competition in Philadelphia, out of 29 teams from North American and international colleges.
Now, the team is preparing to defend its title in the ASME West Coast Challenge on May 1-4 in Portland, Ore.
Contributing to the victory were the following performances:
• Male Sprint Race – First Place (45.6 mph top speed)
•n Female Sprint Race – Second Place (38.7 mph top speed)
• Female Drag Race — First Place
• Design Report — First Place
• Overall Drag Race — First Place
“There’s a feeling of satisfaction that last year’s (ASME East Coast title) was no fluke. We’re establishing Rose-Hulman has a competitive force in collegiate human powered vehicle competitions,” stated Project Manager Jeff Van Treuren, a junior mechanical engineering major. “It’s great to see all of our hard work pay off, and get that outside gratification from competition judges and members of competing teams.”
Rose-Hulman’s single-rider vehicle is 8 feet long, 21 inches wide, 391/2 inches tall and weighs 75 pounds. The team’s innovative design features body shell made from sturdy carbon fiber, Nomex materials, a sub-frame that has the front wheel pedal drive and steering systems. It takes several seconds for the vehicle to build up speed, but can get up to 35 mph in less than 30 seconds.
That speed was put to the test in the female drag race, which pitted Rose-Hulman against MST in the final 75-meter races of the East Coast Challenge. After navigating through three smooth turns and three roundabout circles, driver Rachelle Cobb, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, steadily pulled away over the final 100 yards to defeat the Missouri competitor in a jubilant dash to the finish line. The Olin College of Engineering (Mass.) placed third in the overall competition.
“Wow, that was exciting and way too close,” admitted engineering manager/driver Danny Sing, a mechanical engineering graduate student. He was a member of the inaugural HPV team that failed to get off the starting line in 2006.
While weighing more than originally designed, Sing admits that this year’s vehicle is easier to get started and turn corners, more stable at low speeds and has a more reliable drive train, which features a nine-speed gear system that’s easily adjustable between races. The vehicle took top design honors for safety, innovation and testing.
“We wanted to design a safe and reliable vehicle. We achieved all our design objectives and won races, too,” stated Treasurer Chris Wlezien, a junior mechanical engineering major.
Sing added, “We built a vehicle to race competitively in two distinct races. The East Coast challenge is entirely different that the West Coast Challenge. We’re ready for whatever challenges are put in out path.”
Other drivers of the vehicle in competition include Andrew Bomar, a freshman mechanical engineering major; and Ariel Young, a sophomore mechanical engineering major. Contributing to the team’s strong effort were members Molly Nellis, a senior electrical and mechanical engineering major; Cole Pearson and Sean Hannon, sophomore mechanical engineering majors; and Jeff Dovalovsky, a sophomore computer engineering student. The team’s faculty advisers are Pat Ferro and Michael Moorhead of the Department of Mechanical Engineering.
Joining Rose-Hulman in competing in the East Coast regional was the University of Iowa, University of Oklahoma, Iowa State University, Northern Illinois University, the Naval Academy, Rutgers University and the Indian Institute of Technology of Delphi, India.
More information about the ASME’s Human Powered Vehicle competitions can be found at www.asme.org/Events/Contests/HPV/Human_Powered_Vehicle.cfm. Details about Rose-Hulman’s team can be found at www.rose-hulman.edu/hpv.
Rose-Hulman
Rose Human Powered Vehicle team defends title
- Rose-Hulman
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Rose-Hulman swimmers flying to nationals
Rose-Hulman swimmers John Craig Huster and Orion Martin have qualified for the Division III national meet in the 100 butterfly
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Despite four NCAA Division III titles, Rose-Hulman’s Liz Evans remains as driven as ever
Even though Rose-Hulman senior Liz Evans has won four NCAA Division III titles in the women’s high jump, getting motivated is still easy for her.
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Balsbaugh’s late-season scoring giving Rose-Hulman a lift
If someone were to predict before last weekend that Rose-Hulman would capture its second straight Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship in men’s basketball and that senior Brenton Balsbaugh would be named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, fans probably would believe the first statement but consider the second as wishful thinking.
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Rose-Hulman baseball team kicking off season in Florida
Jeff Jenkins is serious about his baseball.
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Rose-Hulman men clinch conference title
Rose-Hulman will host the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball tournament and claimed the league’s regular-season title with a 59-57 win at Hanover College on Saturday.
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No. 23 Rose-Hulman takes down No. 22 Transylvania on the road
No. 23 ranked Rose-Hulman claimed a two-game lead in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball standings with a 54-49 victory at No. 22 Transylvania University on Saturday.
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Rose-Hulman 18-2 after pulling away from Anderson
Rose-Hulman opened the second half on a 20-3 run to pull away and earn a convincing 71-40 men’s basketball victory at Anderson University on Wednesday night.
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Freshman paces Engineer women to HCAC win
The Rose-Hulman women’s basketball team improved to 10-10 for the season and 6-7 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play with a 52-44 win over Anderson on Wednesday in Hulbert Arena.
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Rose men top Franklin
Rose-Hulman improved to 14-2 overall and kept its Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference lead at 8-1 with a 58-42 men's basketball victory at Franklin College on Wednesday night.
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Rose men run winning steak to 11 games
Anderson arrived in Terre Haute with a 7-6 record and a scoring average of 76.5 points per game.
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Anderson holds off rally by Rose women
Rose-Hulman rallied from an 11-point deficit to close within three points late, but Anderson University held on to earn a 64-57 victory in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference women’s basketball Wednesday night inside O.C. Lewis Gymnasium.
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Rose-Hulman men ranked 26th in Division III
Rose-Hulman’s men’s basketball team is ranked 26th nationally in the d3hoops.com national weekly poll released on Thursday.
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Gerken hits game-winner to put Rose-Hulman at 9-1 on season
Making the game-winning shot, with what turned out to be seven-tenths of a second to go, was probably the easy part for Jon Gerken on Saturday afternoon in Hulbert Arena.
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Rose women struggle from field in loss to Hanover
In the Rose-Hulman women’s college basketball game, frigid shooting undermined good work the Engineers did in other aspects of the game against Hanover.
The Engineers came out on the wrong end, 55-43. -
Efficient Engineers stifle Millikin
The word that probably best describes the Rose-Hulman men’s basketball team is efficiency.
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Rose-Hulman women's basketball regains Clabber Girl Trophy
Rose-Hulman reclaimed the Clabber Girl Trophy for the first time since 2009 with an 80-74 women’s basketball victory over Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College on Tuesday night in Hulbert Arena.
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Balanced Rose tops Fontbonne
Senior forward Nate Gissentanner came off the bench to deliver 14 points for balanced Rose-Hulman in a 72-54 men’s basketball victory over Fontbonne University on Wednesday night in Hulbert Arena.
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Rose-Hulman men's basketball preview: Engineers looking to follow up last year’s success
It’s pretty safe to say that expectations for the Rose-Hulman men’s basketball team have not been this high since the late 1990s when the Engineers reached the NCAA Division III tournament three times within a four-year period.
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Rose-Hulman women's basketball preview: Engineers continuing to improve
The Rose-Hulman women’s basketball team didn’t dominate many opponents last season when it ended up with records of 9-18 overall and 6-12 in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.
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Earlham tragedy leads to Rose football cancellation
Little did Rose-Hulman’s football players and coaches know, their 42-8 home victory over Anderson University last Saturday turned out to be their final game of the season.
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This weekend's Rose-Hulman vs. Earlham football game canceled
Due to Friday's tragic events involving three Earlham College students, the football game between Earlham and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology has been canceled.
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Anderson squeaks past Rose-Hulman
Anderson University scored in the 11th minute and held off a Rose-Hulman charge to earn a 1-0 men's soccer victory in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference semifinal match on Wednesday night at the Engineer Intramural Field.
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Rose swimmers near top because of vets, youth
Rose-Hulman swimming depth is at an all-time high, putting the Engineers at No. 15 in the NCAA Division III national rankings.
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A bigger taste?
On the night of Oct. 14, Rose-Hulman basketball fans were treated to something described by a couple of men’s players as “spectacular” and “epic” when they all jammed into Hulbert Arena for the insititute’s first “Midnight Madness” to tip off a season.
The memorable site wasn’t a 360-degree dunk or a no-look, behind-the-back pass.
It was Rose men’s coach Jim Shaw performing the “Bernie Dance,” based on the deceased character from the 1989 movie “Weekend At Bernie’s.”
“For a second, I thought he was having a seizure,” senior starting guard Austin Weatherford said with a straight face later. -
Rose women picked for 6th
The Rose-Hulman women’s basketball team has been picked to finish sixth in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference this season, according to a preseason poll of league coaches released Tuesday.
Hanover and Franklin were selected for first and second respectively, with just two poll points separating the two squads. -
Rose-Hulman no match for Franklin
Franklin showcased its No. 23 NCAA Division III ranking from d3football.com in a 56-0 victory over Rose-Hulman in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football Saturday.
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Rose blanks Woods 3-0 in women’s soccer
Rose-Hulman women’s soccer coach Amy Helliwell is riding a youth movement to what she hopes could produce a strong turnaround in this 2012 season.
It has so far.
Led by freshman Hayley Gilliam, a Zionsville native, the Engineers improved to 5-4-1 for the season with a dominant 3-0 victory against cross-county rival St. Mary-of-the-Woods College on Wednesday at Jim Rendel Field. -
METRO ROUNDUP: Engineers dominate HCAC honors
Rose-Hulman Institute student-athletes earned three Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Week awards, in results released by the league office on Monday.
West Vigo graduate John Burt was named HCAC Defensive Player of the Week and Eric Schaible the Special Teams Player of the Week in football, and B.J. Thompson earned Player of the Week honors in men’s soccer.
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Snyder throws for two early TDs in Rose-Hulman victory
Rose-Hulman scored 33 points in the middle two quarters and held off a Defiance rally to earn a 33-20 victory in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference football opener for both schools Saturday.
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Rose’s record setter
Kyle Kovach got off to a great start in Rose-Hulman’s football season opener Saturday night in what turned out to be a heartbreaking 29-28 home loss to Kalamazoo College at Cook Stadium.
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