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Student Race Car Builders Find Formula for Success

sfoskett — Mon, 13 May 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Almost hidden away in the back of WPI鈥檚 Sagamore facility, the Formula SAE Club鈥檚 headquarters has the look and feel of a true motor sports operation. That鈥檚 because it is.

Every year, the club鈥檚 offshoot Major Qualifying Project (MQP) group takes on the monumental task of building a race car to compete in the annual Formula Hybrid + Electric intercollegiate competition at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. Along the way, club members gain valuable hands-on skills doing everything from fabrication and welding to circuit board design and embedded computer programming.

This year鈥檚 team finished just outside the top 10 against the 22 other colleges and universities competing in the electric vehicle category, and brought home the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Excellence in EV Engineering Award, given annually to the team that emphasizes preparation, team dynamics, attention to details, and establishing or continuing a legacy.

鈥淚 think that this year鈥檚 car was one of the best-designed FSAE cars we鈥檝e built to date,鈥?said faculty advisor Bill Michalson, professor of robotics engineering. 鈥淭he craftsmanship, design, and analysis that went into this year鈥檚 car was truly outstanding.鈥?With support from various subgroups in the club, the MQP team took a bare tube-frame chassis and developed nearly every system on the electric-powered race machine from the ground up. From the battery to the brake rotors, much of the work was done in-house, on state-of-the-art machining equipment in Washburn or with a welding torch in the Sagamore shop.

The completed car was then loaded into a trailer and hauled to the competition, where over the course of three days in late April the team competed in several events, including an autocross course and an endurance challenge. Active since 1985, WPI鈥檚 FSAE team has also made the trek to Michigan for the FSAE national competition. But in recent years, the team has focused its efforts on Formula Hybrid + Electric.

鈥淲e switched to electric for a few reasons,鈥?said Harris Brancazio, a senior and member of the MQP team. 鈥淏ut one of the main reasons was that sustainable transportation is really important, and it鈥檚 something we think students should be learning about at WPI.鈥?lt;/span>

In addition to making the move from internal combustion engines to fully electric power, the club has also adjusted its structure to ensure that the institutional knowledge gained through the MQP race car building experience does not leave with graduating seniors. Club members not on the MQP can complete various projects and tasks that support the race team in some way, and they earn independent study class credit along the way. One subgroup worked on the steering wheel design for the car this year; another fabricated a tool to move the car around in the pits at the track.

鈥淣ext year those students will be on the MQP team, and will have all of that knowledge,鈥?Brancazio said. 鈥淧lus, that way we can use the same base car over multiple years.鈥?amp;nbsp;

This year鈥檚 car is brand-new. The chassis was welded by a specialty manufacturer to the team鈥檚 exact design specifications, and once delivered, the team got to work at Sagamore, designing, machining, building, and installing nearly every nut, bolt, and suspension piece on the car.

On a recent afternoon before the competition, the car sat atop a rolling stand. It looked like a race car, but there were still some rather important details to be buttoned up. Outside in the hallway, a team member unrolled spools of raw carbon fiber, which would soon be mixed with epoxy and fitted to body part molds to make the race car鈥檚 aerodynamic bodywork.

LEGO Club Designs Floral Arrangements for Presidential Inauguration

amduffy — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 12:00:00 +0000

In a room tucked away in the WPI Innovation Studio, the clinking of tiny, brightly colored plastic pieces could be heard as students followed digital models to create intricate shapes. These students share a common goal: to create a botanical masterpiece out of LEGO to welcome WPI鈥檚 new president at her inauguration.

With an arsenal of 2,495 pieces, the LEGO Club embellished the face of the university podium with red and white LEGO orchids. This technical yet creative project will be featured during the inauguration of Grace J. Wang, PhD, as the 17th president of WPI.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be front and center during the inauguration, which is very cool,鈥?says computer science and math double major Andrew Salls 鈥?4, club president. 鈥淲e designed this project from scratch using both traditional and less common [LEGO] parts.鈥?lt;/span>

Although orchid sets do exist in the LEGO botanical collection, Salls says the club intentionally repurposed pieces typically found in other sets to create their unique design. Examples of this creative reimagining include using green curved car hoods for the leaves and using ball and axel joints to hold pieces in place.

To render the design and delegate the sections of the project among the club members, the club used the BrickLink Studio program. This program not only helped with sharing the design, it also created the instructions needed for the meticulous positioning of all the pieces. In all, the club spent about 15 hours designing and 20 hours building the project.

The club has created other large LEGO projects for the school, including a model of the entire WPI campus--a notable example of the club鈥檚 creative ingenuity--which is on display in the Bartlett center.

Club members, such as mechanical engineering major Megan Jordan 鈥?5, say the club has always challenged them to think creatively. During the free build sessions, club members usually receive creative prompts that encourage them to think outside of the box.

鈥淚t鈥檚 cool to look at all the pieces you have, and to think about what new purpose those pieces can be used for,鈥?says Jordan. 鈥淪ometimes I end up building something unique that I did not expect to build.鈥?lt;/span>

Fanfare for a New President

amduffy — Fri, 15 Mar 2024 12:00:00 +0000

Globally recognized tech universities are not typically associated with musical arts programs, but at WPI it is no secret that music plays a key role in its culture. This is why students are christening the historical inauguration of Grace J. Wang, PhD, as the school鈥檚 17th president with their musical talents.

Electrical and computer engineering and computer science double major Robbie Oleynick 鈥?4 is composing an original brass ensemble for the event. For Oleynick this is more than an independent study project toward his music minor; it鈥檚 his unique way of storytelling.

鈥淒oing an original piece for this inauguration is a cool way to capture how important WPI believes the humanities are in our education,鈥?he says. 鈥淢usic tells a story, and I want to convey emotions that help the audience feel something that can鈥檛 be felt textually.鈥?lt;/span>

Oleynick鈥檚 composition, titled Limitless, will be performed by the WPI Brass Ensemble (13 brass instrumentalists and two percussionists).

鈥淲ith this piece, I want to convey the emotion behind innovation and pushing forward,鈥?he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a unique opportunity to bring new light to concepts that are important but have been overstated in text.鈥?lt;/span>

According to WPI鈥檚 director of music ensembles, Joshua Rohde, about 1,600 students participate in the university鈥檚 music program each year, and there are 18 faculty-led ensembles.

鈥淔or many of these students who come to WPI because of its music program, music is one of the most important things we do on campus,鈥?said Rohde. 鈥淲hich is why the inauguration should reflect what is important to the students.鈥?amp;nbsp;

鈥淭he musicians here are talented but, more important, they have this understanding of balancing what it means to be a performing artist and what it means to be an engineer or a scientist,鈥?said Oleynick. 鈥淚 think that is what sets us apart from any other school; at WPI we have both sides of our brains engaged.鈥?lt;/span>

The full-day inauguration will feature performances from the Brass Ensemble, the Pep Band, the Concert Band, a string quartet, a jazz group, piano players, and the student choir.

鈥淥ur favorite thing to do is perform in public, and we love performing for the WPI campus,鈥?said chemical engineer major and chorus club president Joey Berthiaume 鈥?5. 鈥淏eing able to perform our talents and being able to show our passions at such an exciting event feels electric.鈥?amp;nbsp;He says musical groups like the choir take a lot of pride in their performances, especially for new audiences.

鈥淧eople who typically show up to our events enjoy choral music and live music,鈥?says Berthiaume. 鈥淎t the inauguration, we will be performing in front of some people who have never seen or heard us before and it gives us a desire to do especially well for those people.鈥?lt;/span>

The inauguration of President Wang will take place on March 22.

Green Team Launches Community Garden

mlumsden — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 12:00:00 +0000

Inch by inch, row by row, WPI鈥檚 Green Team is helping the campus community grow.

A new greenhouse at 19 Schussler Road, beside the Collegiate Religious Center (CRC), is the first visible piece of the club鈥檚 plans to cultivate a vibrant community garden for WPI students, faculty, and staff.

鈥淲e want this to be not only a garden, but a community space where people can come and spend time and learn from each other,鈥?says Gabriel Espinosa, Green Team鈥檚 president and a senior mechanical engineering major.

Young lettuce plants in the community garden

About 100 people stopped by during last month鈥檚 open house marking the official launch of the community garden. Many of those present had already lent some sweat equity to the project, which is one of the tasks specified in WPI鈥檚 sustainability plan and has been more than a year in the making. During the planning process Green Team leaders developed relationships across campus鈥攊n particular with the Facilities Office, the Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Multicultural Education (ODIME), and Dining Services.

鈥淔acilities has been with us on pretty much every step of this. But we also wanted to make sure we weren鈥檛 putting more work on them by creating this space,鈥?says Paige Agostini, chair of Green Team鈥檚 community garden subcommittee and a junior double majoring in chemical engineering and environmental studies.

Construction of an accessible walkway and patio at the CRC, which is part of ODIME, was already underway when Green Team got the university鈥檚 approval to use the side yard for a garden. The club鈥檚 advisor, Nicole Luiz 鈥?8, is the energy and sustainability manager in the Facilities Office and Office of Sustainability and has been instrumental in making the greenhouse a reality.

Sowing Stewardship

Even though Green Team isn鈥檛 officially affiliated with the CRC, the club鈥檚 focus on sustainability and environmental justice dovetails with ODIME鈥檚 focus on multicultural community building. That connection became clear to both Agostini and Espinosa when they took courses with Joseph Cullon, professor of teaching in the Department of Humanities & Arts.

Gabriel Espinosa welcomes people during community garden open house

鈥淭hrough industrialization, we鈥檝e polluted a lot of the soil around us, particularly in marginalized communities,鈥?says Espinosa. 鈥淚n Professor Cullon鈥檚 classes he emphasizes that giving people control over a piece of land, where they can grow things and reap the rewards, is a great way to give a voice and power to communities that have traditionally been left out of conversations.鈥?lt;/p>

Noting that Worcester鈥檚 industrial past means much of the city is likely a brownfield, Agostini adds, 鈥淲hile WPI may be in a privileged part of the city, we hope the community garden gets people thinking about environmental justice.鈥?lt;/p>

Kalvin Cummings, ODIME鈥檚 assistant director for religion and spiritual life, is happy that the community garden is housed at the CRC.

鈥淔aith organizations have always lent their physical spaces to the needs of the community. As the university鈥檚 primary interfaith space, the CRC is a natural place to put community efforts into action,鈥?says Cummings.

Cultivating Connections

In total, launching the community garden cost just over $6,000 and was paid for entirely by the Student Government Association. That covered the purchase of the greenhouse structure itself, plus seeds and gardening tools, as well as pouring the foundation and other site preparation steps. Green Team members built the six raised beds, which are filled with soil and compost donated by the Greenhouse & Horticulture Club.

Kale growing in the community garden

So far Green Team members and volunteers have planted lettuce, kale, peppers, basil, cilantro, and thyme in the greenhouse. Agostini hopes to be able to harvest some greens and herbs by the beginning of B-Term.

Anyone who volunteers at the community garden during a given period will be able to take home part of the harvest, if they wish. Eventually, anything unclaimed after each harvest will be donated to DoughClub鈥檚 campus food pantry. And while hardy crops like kale should be able to keep growing in the unheated greenhouse through November and start growing again in late February or early March, harvests aren鈥檛 likely to be bountiful enough to share widely until the Green Team builds additional raised beds outside on the CRC lawn.

Next up for Green Team, now that the greenhouse is built and the first crops are beginning to thrive, is to expand and strengthen the garden community. In particular, Agostini is working with the Art and Design Club to highlight the interconnectedness of the WPI community while also sprucing up the concrete wall behind the greenhouse.

鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to paint a nice mural that connects the CRC and ODIME鈥檚 mission of community building and multiculturalism to the garden鈥檚 mission of community building and giving back,鈥?she says.

Life Lessons on The Launchpad

sfoskett — Tue, 23 Aug 2022 12:00:00 +0000

The WPI High Power Rocketry Club's entry for the 2022 Spaceport America Cup blew up a little less than halfway to its 10,000-foot goal earlier this summer, but the team still found rewards amid the debris that fell out of the Southern New Mexico sky. In fact, it was the failure of the 12-foot-long solid-propellant rocket that ultimately proved as valuable as any trophy.

鈥淚t鈥檚 part of the whole discovery process,鈥?said team captain Kevin Schultz 鈥?3. 鈥淲e have to figure out what this is. It鈥檚 a lot like solving a mystery, and as engineers, we really do enjoy that.鈥?amp;nbsp;

HPRC鈥檚 24-person travel team鈥攑art of a 135-member-strong club鈥攋oined 1,300 other participants, representing 150 student teams from 95 higher education institutes and 16 countries at this year鈥檚 competition, held June 21-25. The competition calls for teams to construct a rocket and shoot it into 鈥渟pace鈥?while carrying a small payload and is considered a premiere recruitment opportunity for sponsors, which this year included Sierra Space, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic.

Focusing on the 鈥淕iving鈥?this Holiday

cbwamback — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 12:00:00 +0000

Since 1994, members of WPI鈥檚 Lambda Chi Alpha chapter have spent the Saturday before Thanksgiving collecting food for Friendly House, a family assistance agency in Worcester. The work has had a real impact: over the past 26 years, nearly 2.5 million pounds of food has been collected and donated.

鈥淓very year, we drop off 10,000 empty grocery bags to homes near WPI,鈥?said Brandon Rein, Lambda Chi Alpha philanthropy chair. 鈥淎nd every year, we think maybe we will get a few bags filled. But without fail, when we drive around to pick them up, we are amazed by the generosity of our neighbors.鈥?lt;/p>

This year鈥檚 goal was ambitious: 300,000 pounds of non-perishable items鈥攚hich they met. If that number seems staggering, so is the need: 500 Friendly House families have signed up to receive the donations.

鈥淲e have come to rely on WPI and Lambda Chi Alpha for their donations,鈥?said Michael Moreshead, assistant to the executive director at Friendly House. 鈥淎s one of our longest-running supporters, they continue to meet our growing needs and this year was no exception.鈥?lt;/p>

WPI Club Seeks to Empower and Mentor Aspiring Cybersecurity Professionals

jlevy2 — Fri, 29 Oct 2021 12:00:00 +0000

October was Cybersecurity Awareness Month, which usually means thinking about changing your password and keeping an eye out for phishing emails, but it鈥檚 also a time to take a step back and reflect on the industry as a whole. Cybersecurity is facing two significant workforce issues鈥攁 gender gap and widespread vacancies鈥攖hat affect not just the industry, but many aspects of people鈥檚 daily lives. Cybersecurity professionals are critical to identifying and protecting against threats such as ransomware attacks on schools and police departments, the hack of Colonial Pipeline that led to a widespread fuel shortage, and the data breach at T-Mobile that compromised the personal information of millions of customers.

Increased threats underscore the increased demand for defenders. Historically, the field of cybersecurity has been dominated by men, but to fill the reportedly 500,000 open positions in the United States the gender gap must be addressed. According to 2020鈥檚 Women in Cybersecurity report, women working in the field account for 24% of its overall workforce. While that number is still low, it鈥檚 grown from just 11% in 2017.

That growth may be thanks, in part, to groups focused on engaging girls and women in computer science fields and to organizations like Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS), a national organization established in 2012 through a National Science Foundation grant. A chapter was created at WPI in 2019 and, since that time, has held events ranging from team and individual coding exercises, bringing speakers to campus, and mentorship programs to engage young women in the field.

WPI WiCyS President Nicole Conill 鈥?2 says she 鈥渇ell in love鈥?with the concept of women in cybersecurity after attending the national WiCyS conference in 2019. Soon after returning to campus, she and a founding team decided to start their own chapter of WiCyS. Conill says at first she viewed the club as a way to boost her r茅sum茅, but quickly became more invested in the club, realizing how many opportunities it opened both for her future career and for ways to give back to others. Now, she says, she has been 鈥渢raveling and meeting people [in the field] all the time, every year鈥?both on and off campus.

While the club has an academic and technical focus, some of its greatest strengths may be in empowerment and representation. Alexa Freglette '22, the WPI WiCyS vice president, says she first became involved with cybersecurity in high school, and joined WiCyS during her sophomore year at WPI at the recommendation of a friend. Freglette says she has benefitted from taking part in the club and is already looking forward to paying it forward. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exciting to be at the forefront of [cyber security], and I hope to inspire future generations of women and girls as they pursue their dreams.鈥?lt;/p>

Mentorship, networking, and career guidance are important aspects of the club that may run counter to the stereotypical idea of a solitary cybersecurity professional, which is something Computer Science professor Craig Shue says distinguishes WiCyS. 鈥淭here鈥檚 actually a friend group in this discipline and a group of people who want to help [these women] and see them succeed,鈥?he says. He adds that鈥檚 not only giving a boost to the students already studying Computer Science and Cybersecurity, but also to those students looking to get into the field as they see more women in the classroom and at WiCyS events.

As the visibility of women in the industry increases, so do the opportunities and pipeline of women studying cybersecurity and starting their careers in the field. Freglette says being a part of the club has also opened doors to internships, during which she worked alongside other women and helped her feel more included鈥攃ombating 鈥渋mposter syndrome鈥?and giving her a professional support group.

It also should be noted, even though the word 鈥渨omen鈥?is in the name of WiCyS, it鈥檚 an inclusive club where events are open to all, and to all levels of experience. 鈥淲e鈥檙e beginner-friendly and you don鈥檛 have to know anything about cybersecurity to become involved with us,鈥?says Conill. She and Freglette hope that inclusivity not only helps grow the membership of their club, but also the number of women in the field in general.

Both Conill and Freglette will be at WPI for an additional year to pursue their MS degrees in Cybersecurity. However, their involvement and attachment to WiCyS likely won鈥檛 end there. As Conill says, 鈥渋t is almost a lifelong organization.鈥?lt;/p>

WPI鈥檚 Got What? . . . LEGO Club

admin — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 12:00:00 +0000

IQP, MQP, HUA, SGA, and of course, WPI鈥?lt;a>acronyms are nothing out of the ordinary here, but there鈥檚 a new one being thrown into the mix: MOC.

鈥淚t鈥檚 LEGO terminology,鈥?explains Jeffrey Wu 鈥?2, 鈥渁s in, 鈥榤y own creation.鈥欌€?lt;/p>

The term typically refers to freestyle creations made with those colorful little bricks we鈥檝e all grown up with (and tried to avoid stepping on for just as long), but in this case, the new LEGO Club on campus could be considered Wu鈥檚 biggest MOC to date.

Wu, Daler Kang 鈥?2, and Marcus Chalmers 鈥?2鈥攖he club鈥檚 president, treasurer, and vice president, respectively鈥攃reated the LEGO Club late last year. Wu had plans back in high school to create a LEGO club at his future college. He was surprised to find that a LEGO club wasn鈥檛 already in place at WPI, a school with such a focus on hands-on culture, and after some investigation, realized that he wasn鈥檛 alone in his interest. In an effort to share his passion with his fellow students while also drawing attention to the skill, artistry, and attention to detail required of building, the LEGO Club was founded.

In a world where most people might consider LEGO building to be a solitary venture, Wu sees the exact opposite. 鈥淟EGO building has always been a social activity in my life,鈥?he says. 鈥?..every MOC I鈥檝e created seemed to not fulfill its purpose until I had it put on display among other builders.鈥?lt;/p>

The club serves as a place for Wu to do just that. It鈥檚 a haven for LEGO enthusiasts across campus, so it only makes sense that WPI鈥檚 own LEGO Lady, director of the Housing & Residential Experience Center and assistant dean of students Casey Wall, is the club鈥檚 advisor. 鈥淚 love that my passion for LEGO is shared with so many students,鈥?she says, adding that while she likes to complete LEGO kits, her favorite thing is hearing about and seeing what club members build based on their own imagination and creativity piece by piece.

Some of those builds?

They鈥檝e already got a replica of the Innovation Studio (designed by Patrick Nieman 鈥?3) under their belt; Wu himself has created a proportionally accurate model of British battleship HMS Nelson (which he finished among the papers, projects, and finals of last D-Term), and their pi猫ce de r茅sistance, a 1:300-scale model of the WPI campus itself. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a long-term project,鈥?he says, simply.

We hope we鈥檙e not the only ones looking forward to seeing Gompei in LEGO form.

The club hosts regular building sessions on weekend afternoons, where attendees have access to hundreds of bricks and are encouraged to either create anything when inspiration strikes them or鈥攆or an added challenge鈥攁dhere to different themes or constraints set by their fellow members. Interested students may email the club for more information on upcoming builds.

OK, enough talking鈥攍et鈥檚 go build some LEGOs.

-By Allison Racicot