| Communications and Development |  |
Published by Communications and Development
A last minute change to the course may have cost the University of Canterbury's Chem-E-Car team the world title in Glasgow but the students were thrilled with their third placing in the poster competition.
Fourth year chemical and process engineering students Nick Moleta, David Walker, Aidan Lee and Amir Zamberi travelled to Glasgow to compete at the weekend in the international Chem-E-Car challenge held as part of the 7th World Congress of Chemical Engineering.
They were accompanied by department technician David Brown who acted as technical adviser to the team.
The team won the right to compete for international honours after winning both the performance event and poster competition at the Australasian championships in Sydney last year.
The object of the competition is for teams of undergraduate students to design and construct a car to travel a specified distance using a chemical reaction to power it.
The Canterbury entry – known as the Air-O-Car – is propelled by an internal combustion engine just like a model airplane. Just enough air for the engine is supplied from an air bag which is filled using a bicycle pump. When the air is depleted the car stops.
The Canterbury team was told the course would be on paving slabs but arrived in Glasgow to find the course was on carpet. Their first attempt at the 16.5 metre target was well short. The team was given permission to move to a concrete pad for their second attempt but despite initially stopping at the required 16.5 metre mark, the downward slope of the course meant the car's momentum then carried it forward and out of bounds.
The event was won by USA Tulsa, with Iran ATU second and the Puerto Rican team third. The poster competition was won by Puerto Rico, followed by Iran and Canterbury.
Director of the Chem-E-Car programme at Canterbury, senior lecturer Ian Gilmour, is delighted.
“It is great the students received recognition for all the hard work which has gone into the poster. The important thing is that we competed and flew the flag for the University of Canterbury and New Zealand.”
A filmmaker accompanied the Canterbury team and hopes to produce a documentary outlining the innovation behind the cars and how such inventions may one day provide an alternative to fossil fuel.
The team is grateful for the financial assistance it received from the University of Canterbury and other sponsors, SCENZ, Patience and Nicholson Ltd and Yunca Ltd.
For further information please contact:
John MacDonald
Communications Manager
University of Canterbury
Tel: +64-3-364 2910
Fax: +64-3-364 2679
Mob: +64-27-441 7280