MC3’s Engineering Team INNOVA-tes and Competes

By: Julie Scott
MC3 Engineering Team INNOVA

Montgomery County Community College’s MC3 Engineering
Team INNOVA is designing and building a hydrogen fuel cellpowered
urban concept vehicle named INNOVA. The vehicle will
compete in the Shell Eco-marathon Americas Challenge in Detroit,
MI in Apr. 2016.
The Shell Eco-marathon is a major educational project that
encourages and fosters innovation through students working
together to explore potential solutions to both current and future
transportation and energy needs. This project provides engineering
students a valuable opportunity to develop and apply these skills
in a real-life scenario. Free and open to the public, the Shell Ecomarathon
also benefits from both local and national media coverage.
MC3 Engineering Team INNOVA has recently been selected
to move on to Phase II of the challenge. Phase II involves advancing
the vehicle from the software design phase to practical drawings and
then moving on to fabrication. Before Jan. 25, 2016, the team will
be submitting its technical schematics of the power and driveline
configuration to Shell Eco-marathon.
Donations are being sought and accepted through the College’s
Foundation office as well as via a gofundme.com site(gofundme.
com/projectinnova). Your donation would not only have a positive
impact on future engineers, but it will also promote a grass-roots
effort to increase energy efficiency in the transportation sector.
MC3 Engineering Team INNOVA has many hurdles to
overcome including raising the appropriate funds to build the
vehicle, transport it to the competition, as well as travel and lodging
expenses for the twelve team members.
For further information and to support the team’s efforts, please
visit our GoFundMe campaign at gofundme.com/projectinnova.
You can also follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/mc3.innova

Image courtesy of MC3 Engineering Team INNOVA. MC3 Engineering Team INNOVA is designing a hydrogen fuel cell-powered urban concept vehicle that will will compete in the Shell Eco-marathon Americas Challenge in Detroit.

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Engineering Club Builds Friendships and Skills

By Andre Wilson III

Many people go into college feeling alone and a bit afraid due because they may no longer be at a school with all of their friends. For that reason, many decide to attend school events and join clubs to meet people who have similar interests and goals in life. Montgomery County Community College offers a variety of clubs for students to join. New clubs are always being created, some last and some don’t, but one particular club is on the rise right now: the Student Engineering Association or SEA.

SEA is a student club with a focus on engineering and the various ways in which all forms of engineering are used to help shape the world and solve its problems. While still in its building stage, the club aims to be completely up and running by the 2014 fall semester. However, anybody can join the club, and, if interested, you can join right now. Sign-up sheets are available in the Engineering Department in the lower level of the Science building and the Student Leadership office in the lower level of College Hall.

One of the greatest things about the SEA is that anybody with the slightest interest in engineering can join. Therefore, you do not have to necessarily be an engineering major to be a part of the club.

“Anybody who has anything to offer can join. Anybody who can work collaboratively and efficiently could be of good use to the club,” says Coty Hines, secretary of the Student Engineering Association.

Why is it important to be able to work collaboratively and efficiently? For one, the club has several group projects in the works for next semester right now. The biggest of those projects is the construction of an ultra-light vehicle that can run on fossil fuels. This ultra-light vehicle will be the main focus of the club next semester, but that’s not the only reason you should join. The club offers creative freedom to all members, meaning that if any individual or group has an engineering task that they’d like to pursue, then they may do so.

However, the club’s focus is not just to construct and build things. The club also strives to prepare students to work in the real world. When asked why people should join, Hines replied, “It is important to gain experience in the field you wish to work in, and you don’t have to wait until you’re employed in that field to start gaining that experience.”

During the next couple of months the club will be doing a lot of recruiting both around campus. They have several special events in the works, so keep an eye open for that. Sign up today!

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