MSU Baja Racing Team Wins Award for Innovation

The Michigan State University Baja Racing Team continues to build a legacy of innovative designs and impressive finishes in collegiate competitions.

In 2007, for the first time in its history, the MSU team successfully raced two vehicles in all three Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) North American competitions and finished 4th place overall out of 125 teams at the June 2007 Baja SAE Rochester World Challenge held at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

This year, the team won a Stand-Alone Innovation Award for successfully racing the first-ever high- performance four-wheel-drive Baja SAE vehicle.

The MSU Baja Team pride themselves on producing cutting-edge innovative vehicles, said Emily Duszynski, the team’s senior leader and public relations manager. “It was a risky adventure, knowing the history of other four-wheel-drive vehicle attempts. The design was preceded by a significant amount of research to determine the most efficient way to provide power for all four wheels.”

The SAE Collegiate Design Competitions require student teams to design, build, and race an off-road vehicle. Each team submits a detailed design report. They are then evaluated on their performance in the dynamic events -- maneuverability, suspension and traction, acceleration, sled pull and, at some competitions, water maneuverability.

“This type of competition provides an irreplaceable 'out-of-the-classroom' experience,” said Duszynski. “It is a great deal of hard work to design and fabricate a vehicle from the ground up in less than a year, but the MSU Baja team is an extremely dedicated group of students. For members of the team, ‘free time’ from school work means ‘SAE shop time.’”

Prior to this season’s racing competitions, the MSU team took 3rd place in the SAE 2008 World Congress at Detroit’s Cobo Hall. Team representatives and presenters included Duszynski and team captains Ken Maisonville and Josh Thomet. Incorporating the theme “A Climate for a Change,” the team presented their project objectives, explained their design processes, and provided technical data.

At the May 1–3 racing competition at Tennessee Technological University, MSU won the Autodesk Design Communication award for their written design validation, and received 5th and 7th places for overall design of their two vehicles out of 75 teams. They were also honored by Honda for 3rd place overall dynamic performance.

The SAE Collegiate Design Competitions require student teams to design, build, and race an off-road vehicle. Each team submits a detailed design report. They are then evaluated on their performance in the dynamic events -- maneuverability, suspension and traction, acceleration, sled pull and, at some competitions, water maneuverability.

“This type of competition provides an irreplaceable 'out-of-the-classroom' experience,” said Duszynski. “It is a great deal of hard work to design and fabricate a vehicle from the ground up in less than a year, but the MSU Baja team is an extremely dedicated group of students. For members of the team, ‘free time’ from school work means ‘SAE shop time.’”

Prior to this season’s racing competitions, the MSU team took 3rd place in the SAE 2008 World Congress at Detroit’s Cobo Hall. Team representatives and presenters included Duszynski and team captains Ken Maisonville and Josh Thomet. Incorporating the theme “A Climate for a Change,” the team presented their project objectives, explained their design processes, and provided technical data.

At the May 1–3 racing competition at Tennessee Technological University, MSU won the Autodesk Design Communication award for their written design validation, and received 5th and 7th places for overall design of their two vehicles out of 75 teams. They were also honored by Honda for 3rd place overall dynamic performance.

The team finished the 2008 season with 7th and 8th places overall in performance out of more than 100 teams at the June 11-14 competition at the Ecole de Technologie Superieure, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Duszynski attributes the team’s success over the years to dedication, teamwork, the love for racing, and the support and resources provided by the College of Engineering, MSU, and the sponsors.

“The team is not afraid to take risks,” she added. “We want to be leaders in performance and innovation; in the engineering industry it's important to always stay one step ahead.

“This experience provides many networking opportunities for internships, as well as for post-graduation positions. Many companies highly value the skills and knowledge gained through the SAE collegiate design series competitions,” she said.