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Using Baja SAE for International Student Outreach

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Conference

2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Seattle, Washington

Publication Date

June 14, 2015

Start Date

June 14, 2015

End Date

June 17, 2015

ISBN

978-0-692-50180-1

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

International Division Poster Session

Tagged Division

International

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

12

Page Numbers

26.1659.1 - 26.1659.12

DOI

10.18260/p.24995

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/24995

Download Count

572

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Paper Authors

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Dale A. Wilson Tennessee Technological University

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Dale Wilson is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Tennessee Technological University. He received his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Missouri-Columbia, all in Mechanical Engineering. He previously served for four years as department chair at Tennessee Tech, and has thirty years of academic experience, along with six years of industrial experience as a Senior Engineer at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft. His research interests are focused on the mechanical behavior of material, especially fatigue and fracture, as well as the mechanical design process.
Professor Wilson is active in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Society of Automotive Engineers. He is also active in the American Society for Engineering Education. He is a Mechanical Engineering program evaluator for the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology and is a registered Professional Engineer.

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Satish M. Mahajan Tennessee Technological University

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Satish M. Mahajan is a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Tennessee Technological University. He received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pune, India (1978). He has two years of industrial experience in the electrical power area. He also received an M.S. from the State University of New York at Buffalo (1983), and a Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina (1987), both in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He has 27 years of academic experience. His research interests are in the area of Electrical Power, Optoelectronics, and Electromagnetics. He was the TVA Chair Professor for six years. He is a senior member of IEEE.

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Mohan D. Rao Tennessee Technological University

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Dr. Rao is a Professor and Chair of Mechanical Engineering at Tennessee Technological University. Previously, he was a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Michigan Tech.
Dr. Rao is a Fellow of two major professional societies in the field—ASME and SAE. He has conducted both basic and applied research in different areas of acoustics and vibration, ranging from analytical modeling of damping of materials, joints, and composite structures to experimental work involving small power tools to large scale machines (e.g. excavators, diesel engines). Dr. Rao has received the US Fulbright award, National Science Foundation Research Initiation Award, and was honored by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center for his work on the damping of the Hubble Space Telescope truss system. In addition, he was recognized as a United Nations Development Program expert in Noise & Vibration Control.

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David Tyrell Laxton

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Logan Atkins

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Kendall Morgan Hall

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Ogle Basil Hall III Tennessee Technological University

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Samantha Brooke White

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Michael Gage Babb

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Sam William Keener TTU Baja SAE

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Keener joined the Baja SAE team in the Spring of 2011. He was the captain of the TTU Baja SAE team in 2012, and is currently employed by Denso manufacturing in Athens, Tenn.

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Abstract

Using Baja SAE for International Student OutreachBaja SAE Collegiate Design Series is a competition that simulates real-world engineering designprojects. Engineering students are tasked to design and build a single seat, off-road vehicle thatwill survive a challenging environment. The student teams must design, plan, manufacture, andrace a vehicle within the limits of the rules. SAE India recognized the value of this hands-onlearning experience and initiated a similar program in 2006. In an effort to accelerate the level ofcompetition and safety, a decision was made to benchmark their program against the program ofa historically successful team. This provided an outstanding outreach opportunity for anAmerican team from this international competition.Nine Baja SAE team members and two faculty sponsors traveled to India to conduct workshopsby sharing their expertise in Baja competition and safety. Both faculty and students concludedthat the opportunities of this experience far outweighed the challenges and risks. There is oftenreluctance to undertake foreign travel with students due to the inherent challenges. These mayinclude jet lag, health issues, scheduling, being in a minority, and differences in food, language,and cultural expectations. Although students on this journey experienced all of these challenges,the challenges paled when compared with the amazing opportunities.In their first encounter, all of the students discovered that their shared passion for Baja created animmediate bond. These Baja-related conversations were heart-felt and intense. Students quicklyrealized how much they had in common. In the more formal workshop setting, the outreachteam became more confident as they realized their robust knowledge of this subject area, and thatthey could make a significant contribution to their Indian counterparts.In the available time between the three workshops conducted, travel and cultural immersionprovided many educational opportunities. Students also had the opportunity to visit theAutomotive Research Association of India (ARAI) and several manufacturing facilities. Thisprovided the opportunity for the students to observe both similarities and differences inmanufacturing and research between the two countries. Although this specific program may notbe replicated in detail, this type of learning experience should be embraced by all engineeringprograms when opportunities present themselves.

Wilson, D. A., & Mahajan, S. M., & Rao, M. D., & Laxton, D. T., & Atkins, L., & Hall, K. M., & Hall, O. B., & White, S. B., & Babb, M. G., & Keener, S. W. (2015, June), Using Baja SAE for International Student Outreach Paper presented at 2015 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Seattle, Washington. 10.18260/p.24995

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