Mississippi State University’s Eco-Car 3 team is preparing for their fourth year of competition, leading to its culmination during the last two weeks of May.
Eco-car 3 is a four-year advanced vehicle competition, where each team competing is required to redesign a Chevrolet Camaro into a hybrid-electric vehicle.
Upon completion, the car for each team is estimated to be worth one million dollars. Funding for this project comes primarily from General Motors, Argon and the U.S. Department of Energy. Each team also receives private funding from their own university and local sponsors.
Sixteen teams from different universities across the country are chosen to participate in this competition. During the second year of Eco-Car 3, MSU placed fifth overall, and during the third year, MSU placed 10th overall.
While MSU placed lower in recent years, MSU achieved first place four times since they first started participating in the Eco-Car competition.
Randy Follett, associate professor for the Bagley College of Engineering and lead faculty advisor for the Eco-Car 3 Team, said he believes the team will place higher during the final year of Eco-Car 3, and he is hopeful about the results to come.
“I believe that we are positioned very well to make significant improvements in our ranking this year,” Follet said. “The team has made great strides in solving the issues that held us back in year 3, and I am very confident that they will improve in their final ranking this year.”
Byron Williams, co-advisor for the Eco-Car 3 team and associate professor of computer science and engineering who has been a part of the team since July, said he has considerably enjoyed mentoring the team and helping as needed.
“The main thing we want students on this team to understand is that this is their team, not ours,” Williams said. “It will be their failure or success.”
Eco-Car 3 has deliverables due frequently throughout the semesters, which require progress reports and updates from all nine branches of the team. Overall, MSU’s Eco-Car 3 team has approximately 60 members, 15 of which are highly active. 
Currently, an emissions testing event is occurring where a dynamometer, essentially a treadmill for a car, will run different tests on the car and its progress.
Miandra Maiers, Eco-Car project manager and MBA student from Starkville, said MSU has their own dynamometer housed in The Center for Advanced Vehicle Systems in the MSU Research Park to run practice tests with.
“Hundreds of colleges across the nation applied to be a part of this program, and MSU is one the 16 chosen schools. That is an amazing opportunity for which no expense has been spared, and lots of time and money has been invested in,” Maiers said.
The final competition is during the last two weeks of May. The first week of the competition will be held in Uma, Arizona, at the General Motors proving grounds. Then, the second week of the competition will be in Las Angeles, California.
During the competition in LA, each team will drive their car around the city, attend outreach events and run tests at a race track, among other activities.
All nine team leaders are required to attend, and give a 20-minute presentation about their accomplishments and their work completed throughout the year. Other members of the team will attend on an as-needed basis, and are invited based on their level of commitment and involvement in the project.
Maiers wants MSU students to know they do not have to know a single thing about cars to be a part of the team, and they do not have to be a certain major. They just have to be interested and willing to learn.
“People hear about Eco-Car and are interested, but students often feel overwhelmed or intimidated by the project,” Maiers said. “In reality, everyone working on this project is a student who is also trying to figure things out as well.”
Carrie Kilgore, Eco-Car communication manager and a marketing major minoring in public relations, joined MSU’s Eco-Car 3 team during her junior year and fell in love with the program. During her second semester on the team, she was asked to interview for her current position as communication manager. Throughout her time on the Eco-Car 3 team, Kilgore said she has gained a range of experience and learned a lot.
“What I have learned most throughout this process is the importance of teamwork,” Kilgore said. “I know that is cliché to say, but when working with such a diverse group of people, learning how to work as a team and communicate is of the utmost importance.”
Kilgore, of Ocean Springs, said there are many opportunities available for students who choose to become an active member of the Eco-Car 3 team.
“One hundred percent of our team members get offered a job through eco-car and their accompanying sponsors,” Kilgore said.
Students are encouraged to join the team at any time.