Teamwork paid off as Union College’s Mini-Baja Team placed 20th overall in the Society of Automotive Engineers Mini-Baja East Competition held recently at Auburn University in Alabama. Sixty teams from the United States and Canada participated in the three-day competition.
Jonathan Hoffman '06, Timothy Jayko '07, Eric Rickert '07, Matthew Waddel '07, Price Williams '07, Zachary Cramer '07, Rich Valentas '07, Matt Beenan '09 and Jonathan Wilson '09 placed the highest of any Union team so far. Hoffman, the team’s president, played a vital role in recruiting, motivating and organizing the group over the last two years.
“It was a collective effort on so many levels,” said Amy Hsiao, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering.
Hsiao was “particularly proud of Union’s performance in the endurance race,” which consisted of a five-hour course through woods, extreme terrain and water conditions. Union completed 19 laps of the 2.2 mile course and placed 19th in this event.
The endurance race was only part of the challenge. Teams also had to compete in safety and design inspection on the first day, acceleration, a log pull, water and land maneuverability and suspension and traction on day two followed by the endurance race on the third day.
Team members, from a variety of majors, had the support of the collective Engineering division; Kimmo Rosenthal, the dean for undergraduate education; and Doug Klein, director of the Center for Converging Technologies.
The racer is on display in Olin Atrium, and the team will present at Steinmetz Symposium. Photos from the event, along with overall rankings, can be found at http://east.minibaja.org/.