2008 Woodie Awards
The road to green
University students, researchers driving forces behind environmental movement
By Jessica Sacco, Collegian Staff
Issue date: 9/2/08 Section: News
This past spring in Marshall, Mich., University of Massachusets senior Stacia Marcelynas drove a car that got 683 miles per gallon.
That's more than most cars get because she was a part of the engineering team from UMass that competed in the annual "supermileage" competition by building its own car and traveling around the Eaton Corporation track in a race for the highest MPGs.
For several years, mechanical engineering students could opt to take an elective class in which they design a small vehicle which can carry one person while getting the highest gas mileage per hour.
Although these vehicles are designed for use on a track, the technologies used to build the car are readily available to car and scooter manufacturers.
One year, students created a vehicle that could travel 35 miles per hour and had 1,100 miles per gallon.
However they're so much smaller than a regular car, said David Schmidt, assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering. He added a truck could run over it and not even notice.
"It could safely operate on quieter roads [though]," said Schmidt who was involved in the making last year's vehicle.
But you don't have to travel 800 miles to Michigan to see UMass trying to make a dent in the gas-driven economy.
Recently a team of researchers from the University received a $440,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for its research in biofuels.
The team will focus on the conversion of biomass, things naturally grown on Earth like plants and trees, and how the use of biologically derived fuel, also known as biodiesel, can be used in any engine or house.
Instead of relying on fossil fuels like petroleum, researchers will look at biofuels, gathered from simple waste products generated on campus, such as the fryer oil used at the dining commons.
Depending on how efficient the process becomes, it could replace 60 percent of petroleum derived fuels, cutting down on the need for petroleum while also saving money. UMass currently pays around $4 per gallon for petroleum-based diesel, but with the use of biodiesel, it would cost fewer than 50 cents per gallon.
That's more than most cars get because she was a part of the engineering team from UMass that competed in the annual "supermileage" competition by building its own car and traveling around the Eaton Corporation track in a race for the highest MPGs.
For several years, mechanical engineering students could opt to take an elective class in which they design a small vehicle which can carry one person while getting the highest gas mileage per hour.
Although these vehicles are designed for use on a track, the technologies used to build the car are readily available to car and scooter manufacturers.
One year, students created a vehicle that could travel 35 miles per hour and had 1,100 miles per gallon.
However they're so much smaller than a regular car, said David Schmidt, assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering. He added a truck could run over it and not even notice.
"It could safely operate on quieter roads [though]," said Schmidt who was involved in the making last year's vehicle.
But you don't have to travel 800 miles to Michigan to see UMass trying to make a dent in the gas-driven economy.
Recently a team of researchers from the University received a $440,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for its research in biofuels.
The team will focus on the conversion of biomass, things naturally grown on Earth like plants and trees, and how the use of biologically derived fuel, also known as biodiesel, can be used in any engine or house.
Instead of relying on fossil fuels like petroleum, researchers will look at biofuels, gathered from simple waste products generated on campus, such as the fryer oil used at the dining commons.
Depending on how efficient the process becomes, it could replace 60 percent of petroleum derived fuels, cutting down on the need for petroleum while also saving money. UMass currently pays around $4 per gallon for petroleum-based diesel, but with the use of biodiesel, it would cost fewer than 50 cents per gallon.
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