Washington College’s Idea Works electric propulsion system took first place in the manned category at the Electric Boat Competition sponsored by the U.S. Navy and the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE). The team completed the 5-mile course in twenty-two minutes and twenty-three seconds, with an average pace of 13.4 mph. Their water-cooled propulsion system was outfitted on a wooden boat.
Students from 34 schools and more than 200 participants took part in the races on Broad Bay in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Washington College, a school without an engineering program, swept the competition. Despite a lack of access to more powerful motors, batteries and boats, the Idea Works team beat the bigger schools by perfecting its propulsion system with the resources they had available. Through ingenuity, they improved the lifespan of their battery packs and maintained voltage to complete the course.
The team included Evan McCarthy (team captain and driver), Jakob Stiens, Seyed Marjaei, Hannah Perkins and Tristan Wright.
“What makes this team different is that we aren’t just engineers,” said Marjaei in an article for Washington College. “Even big corporations are made up of multiple departments like marketing, business and finance. We follow the same structure where everyone in any field of interest can get involved and apply their knowledge to a real, world-class project.”
The program was launched by Dr. Steve Russell of the Sea Warfare and Weapons department, Tim Cullis from the Naval Sea Warfare Center Carderock, and Dr. Leigh McCue from ASNE. The goal; to encourage engineering students to be involved in electric propulsion.
Read more here.
