Watt a Race! Students Compete in the Second EV & the Grid Grand Challenge
May 8, 2025
By Chloe Arrington
Students enrolled in the course Electric Vehicles (EV) & the Grid strapped on helmets and raced their custom-modified scooters in the EV & the Grid Grand Challenge, a high-voltage, high-fun competition that tested speed, innovation, and creativity.
Electric Vehicles & the Grid teaches engineering principles of electric transportation and the energy infrastructure. The class also covers the emerging technologies of batteries, renewables, and connectivity that will allow further optimization of the products with the grid.
As part of their final grade, students modify Segway scooters to include a custom circuit board with microprocessor and display capabilities, energy monitoring circuits, solar charging circuitry, a battery spacer, and custom racks to secure these to the vehicle.
"We wanted to find a way to bring the concepts students learned to life, so we looked for a platform that would allow students to modify and program and then actually 'drive' their work," said Mike Tinskey, interim associate chair for innovation and entrepreneurship and professor of the practice in the Woodruff School.
The challenge is the culmination of a semester-long project. Throughout the course, students complete a series of technical tasks that prepare them for race day. Early on, each student is assigned a U.S. city and writes a simple Python algorithm that determines when the scooter should charge based on factors such as green energy availability, cost savings, or grid load shedding specific to that location.
Students can work through 10 modules to earn points leading up to the EV & the Grid Grand Challenge, where they compete in a relay-style race for the fastest lap time with the lowest energy use.
The event was a pulse-pounding time trial in which teams vied for the fastest individual lap, the most efficient lap based on the vehicle's energy usage, and the best overall race time.
Teammates and mechanical engineering students Aman Gupta, Om Hekde, Aman Mahajan, and Aayush Shah were the overall winners of the event and had the most energy-efficient lap around the course.
Another all-mechanical-engineering team, including Gustavo Espinosa Garcia, Darren Hunt, and Kruin Utschig, clocked the overall best race time.
Biomedical engineering student Hamzah Alsalman and mechanical engineering teammates Alice Lin, Eric Lin, and Gracie Zhang had the best individual lap time.
Electric Vehicles & the Grid is offered through a collaboration between the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering and Siemens. Alumnus Barry Powell, M.S. ME 1991, head of Siemens Electrical Products for North America, and John DeBoer, Head of Siemens Future Grid and eMobility Solutions, have sponsored the course since its launch in Spring 2023.
Each semester, students enrolled in the course are taken on a site visit. This year, students visited Heliox headquarters in Atlanta, learning about their rapid EV charging solutions.
Students appreciate the interactive learning aspect of the course and the perspective it gives to the full scope of EVs.
"I took this class because I want to enter the automotive industry,” said Grant Breckenridge, who is completing his master's degree in mechanical engineering. “I enjoyed the larger-picture view of the energy problems facing the decarbonization of transportation."
Fellow mechanical engineering master’s student Aaryan Bhiwandkar enjoyed the hands-on experience of working on the karts and benefiting from Tinskey's automotive expertise.
"I thought it would be great working with Professor Tinskey, knowing his background with Ford,” he said. “I liked learning about the grid, how electric energy impacts the environment, and, of course, the race!"
EV & the Grid students visit Heliox's Atlanta headquarters.
Students enrolled in EV & the Grid pose for a group photo at Heliox's Atlanta headquarters.
The EV & the Grid Grand Challenge provides a dynamic element to the course, empowering students to apply their engineering knowledge in a practical, active setting that reflects the future of electric mobility.
Along with the Siemens partnership, support from the School and the Institute has helped bolster the success of the course.
"We are incredibly grateful for the support we have received from the School, the ME Electronics Lab and Drew Keller, the Montgomery Machining Mall, the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering labs, the students, and teaching assistant Bryan Kintish," said Tinskey.
Tinskey looks forward to the course continuing, giving future students the opportunity to be on the cutting edge of EV technology.