NHMS to Host North America’s Top Engineering Students for Annual Formula Hybrid + Electric Competition
A record number of top engineering students from all over the United States and Canada will descend upon New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the 18th annual Formula Hybrid + Electric competition April 29 – May 2.
LOUDON, N.H. – More than 500 of North America’s top undergraduate and graduate engineering students will compete in the 18th annual Formula Hybrid + Electric event April 29 – May 2 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS). A record 32 teams from across the United States and Canada designed and built earth-friendly hybrid and electric high-performance race cars over the last 10 months for the one-of-a-kind competition founded and hosted by the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth.
“The number of teams is a substantial increase over last year and a record for the competition’s history,” said Formula Hybrid + Electric’s Director Mike Chapman. “Over 10 years ago, we expanded to include a battery electric category, making Formula Hybrid + Electric the only collegiate competition in the world to host both a hybrid and an electric class. The majority of teams this year are competing with high-performance electric-only vehicles, which is considered to be the future of the automobile industry.”
The 14 new and 18 returning teams, comprised of four hybrid and 28 electric vehicles, will need to pass numerous technical and safety inspections in order to make it onto NHMS’s 1.6-mile full road course.
“[The most challenging part so far has been] rolling with the punches as students from all different levels on the team learn best engineering practices together,” said Dartmouth Formula Racing Captain Joe McInnis. “There are lows when something doesn’t go as planned, but even the smallest success can instantly make it all worth it.”
Many top engineering students engage in this technical competition not only to collaborate and learn from engineering challenges, but also for the chance to be scouted by top car manufacturers and high-tech companies from across the country including Tesla, Applied Materials, Vicor, MacLean-Fogg, AVL, ePropelled and Allegro MicroSystems. This year features expanded networking opportunities such as the virtual career fair, office hours, virtual racing challenge, and receptions at the Vintage Racing Stable and New England Racing Museum.
“It’s amazing to watch these students at work as they prepare their race cars for the racetrack,” said New Hampshire Motor Speedway Executive Vice President and General Manager David McGrath. “They’re true professionals at work, just like the NASCAR teams who will be here working on their race cars in a couple months. This event provides valuable skills for these engineering students as they prepare for their career after graduation.”
Similar to the Formula SAE® competition, students compete in aspects of design, acceleration, handling, and endurance of their vehicle while abiding by rules that minimize risk and preserve students’ freedom to innovate. Formula Hybrid + Electric teams, however, are faced with the additional challenge of optimizing both energy efficiency and sustainability of materials used in their cars. As a result, Formula Hybrid + Electric is the only competition that requires a unique collaboration between mechanical engineers, electrical engineers, and computer scientists in the planning and building of their cars.
While the pandemic forced the cancellation of the on-track event in 2020 and 2021, virtual events were held, and the static presentation events were held via Zoom. The Virtual Racing Challenge was added in 2021 and was held on iRacing’s NHMS road course. The in-person competition returned to NHMS in 2022.
In 2018, Formula Hybrid was awarded one of the most coveted prizes in engineering education, the ABET Innovation Award. Formula Hybrid became Formula Hybrid + Electric in 2020 to better reflect that although it started as a hybrid-only event, there have been hybrid and battery-electric classes since 2012.
For outside spectators, Wednesday, May 1 is the best day to visit. The autocross and acceleration events run from 10 a.m. – 3:30 p.m., and it’s also Formula Hybrid + Electric School Visit Day when approximately 300 middle and high school students will enjoy expert-guided tours and talks with the teams. For more information and a complete schedule, visit Formula-Hybrid.org.
Sources: Shannon Stephens/NHMS PR
The No. 202 electric vehicle from Formula SAE Electric at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. takes part in the on-track portion of the 2023 Formula Hybrid + Electric competition at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Photo Credit: Dartmouth Engineering