Overview

Since 1988, the U.S. Department of Energy has sponsored 12 Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTCs). Mississippi State University (MSU) is proud of its 11 year involvement in the 5 most recent AVTCs: Challenge X, EcoCAR, EcoCAR 2, EcoCAR 3, and now EcoCAR Mobility Challenge. These competitions have aided in growing many successful MSU alumni, roughly 100 per semester. MSU AVTC alumni enter the industry with strong skill sets such as valuable experience in real-world engineering practices, resource allocation, and meeting deliverables. Currently, MSU’S EcoCAR team consists of 80 students from 10 different majors. The diverse team represented six of the university’s eight academic colleges. MSU’s impressive success in the three previous competitions motivates the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge team to continue its success in the current competition. MSU’s most notable AVTC achievements include first place overall in years 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2012. MSU is strongly committed to the AVTC series because of the advantage and experience it gives our students, both technical and non-technical alike, while creating positive publicity for the university. Through promoting an eco-friendly tomorrow, we bridge the gap between academia and industry today. Building on MSU’s past successes in AVTCs, the MSU EcoCAR Mobility Challenge team will develop innovative strategies to modify a 2019 Chevy Blazer to a hybrid electric platform while adding semi-autonomous features to the vehicle. The MSU EcoCAR team of over 80 students will compete along with 12 other universities from across North America. The competition will span four years with specific goals to meet engineering, environmental, and economic goals and still meet the customer standards for the Blazer.