Comeback came in the form of a cougar for a group of UF students Saturday.
Twenty-four students from the UF Chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) raced their way to victory at the Chem-E-Car Competition with their shoebox-sized creation, “The Cougar.”
The team, which traveled to North Carolina State University for the competition, was not allowed to compete last year because the team did not meet safety requirements.
A group of 15 students from the organization worked on the car from last August until competition time. The team spent about two months designing the car and about three months building it, according to John Moh, chairman of UF’s Chem-E-Car.
The car cost $850 to build and runs on hydrogen.
During the competition, the car must attempt to drive exactly 66 feet, and the car that stops the closest wins. Only three members of the team were allowed in the competition area to prep and start the car.
“One of my favorite times of the weekend was during the competition because our whole team and the officers were cheering us on,” said Moh, who was one of the three members allowed in the race area.
For the past five to seven years, UF has not done very well in the competition due to lack of dedication and motivation, Moh said.
“This year, the team members were dedicated and gave great design ideas,” he said. “We worked very hard and had several no-sleep nights.”
The UF team beat 13 other teams and won $300, which will be given to the chapter.
“I can’t say that we expected to win, but the team put in a lot of hard work and time,” said Ben Soucy, president of UF’s AIChE. “Winning definitely showed us that our hard work paid off.”
“As the president, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience,” Soucy said. “To see UF win and to see the excitement of the team – that was amazing.”
The car competition was part of the AIChE annual conference held over the weekend, and the victory qualified the team to compete in the national competition in the fall.
