DETROIT, April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at SAE 2011 World Congress in Detroit, David Sandalow, Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), took the stage for the morning keynote address and, along with Karl Stracke from General Motors (GM), announced the official launch of EcoCAR 2: Plugging in to the Future. SAE World Congress served as the perfect venue to jump-start the new program because, like EcoCAR 2, the conference aims to equip today's engineers with the knowledge and training needed to continue the evolution of automotive propulsion technology and energy efficiency.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110413/DE82496 )

Established by the DOE and GM, EcoCAR 2 is a three-year collegiate engineering competition and the only program of its kind. The mission of EcoCAR 2 is to educate the next generation of automotive engineers through an unparalleled hands-on, real-world engineering experience. The competition challenges 16 North American universities to reduce the environmental impact of vehicles without compromising performance, safety and consumer acceptability. Combining new teams and veterans to Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions, the schools that have been chosen to participate in the EcoCAR 2 are as follows:

• California State University, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
• Colorado State University  (Fort Collins, CO)
• Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, FL)
• Mississippi State University (Starkville, MS)
• North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC)
• The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH)
• Pennsylvania State University (University Park, PA)
• Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN)
• Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Terre Haute, IN)
• University of Ontario Institute of Technology (Oshawa, Ontario, Canada)
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
• University of Victoria (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada)
• University of Washington (Seattle, WA)
• University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada)
• Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, VA)
• Wayne State University (Detroit, MI)

"EcoCAR 2 provides valuable experience to promising young engineers throughout the U.S.," said David Sandalow, DOE Assistant Secretary for Policy & International Affairs. "We wish the EcoCAR 2 teams best of luck in the competition and look forward to watching them progress during the three-year program."

EcoCAR 2 requires students to explore a variety of powertrain architectures and follow a real-world engineering regimen modeled after GM's Global Vehicle Development Process (GVDP). EcoCAR 2 teams will utilize a Chevrolet Malibu, donated by General Motors, as the integration platform for their advanced vehicle design.

"Giving the students the Chevy Malibu for the next vehicle made perfect sense, as the industry and consumers are moving to smaller cars," said Karl Stracke, CEO of Opel/Vauxhall at GM. "Plus, the Malibu offers the students a flexible platform that will allow them to explore various advanced propulsion technologies and other fuel savings techniques. We're definitely eager to watch the EcoCAR teams gain unparalleled experience and knowledge that will be extremely valuable to any automotive company after the students graduate."  

For more information about the student engineering program, the participating schools or the competition sponsors, please visit www.EcoCAR2.org or the Inside the Green Garage blog.

About EcoCAR 2

EcoCAR 2 is a three-year competition that builds on the 23-year history of DOE advanced vehicle technology competitions by giving engineering students the chance to design and build advanced vehicles that demonstrate cutting-edge automotive technologies.

General Motors provides production vehicles, vehicle components, seed money, technical mentoring and operational support. The U.S. Department of Energy and its research and development facility, Argonne National Laboratory, provide competition management, team evaluation, technical and logistical support.

Through this important partnership, EcoCAR 2 aims to inspire and educate the next generation of automotive engineers and accelerate the development and demonstration of technologies that are of interest to the DOE and the automotive industry.  

SOURCE Argonne National Laboratory