Mississippi State University’s EcoCAR Team will be organizing a paint design competition to allow more MSU students to have an opportunity to get involved with the project.
EcoCAR team leader Matthew Doude said this is the first year the paint design competition is being held.
“We are really excited about getting campus involved, and we want to have the best looking car at competition,” he said.
Lee Pratt, team leader of the outreach group, said the design is necessary and is another way to open the team up to MSU students.
“We are going to get our car painted; that’s one of the requirements for the competition,” she said.
Pratt said anyone from all classes can participate in the competition.
“Students, or anyone for that matter, can go to our team website (ecocar.msstate.edu) and download a design packet,” Doude said.
The entries for the competition will open today, and designs can be submitted for two weeks. The closing date for the entries is Friday, March 4 at 5 p.m.
The website has guidelines, along with images of the car, which will help the students design the car, Doude said. Upon finishing their drawings, students will have to e-mail their artwork to [email protected].
The top four entries will be posted on the EcoCAR website and will be open for online voting from March 7 to 11.
Michael Maddox, junior math major, said the experience would be interesting.
“I think it would be pretty neat to design the car,” he said.
Once the winners are selected, their names will be written on one of the sponsored spots of the competition vehicle. Winners will also receive an MSU EcoCAR prize pack and a ride in the championship vehicle, Doude said.
Last year, MSU won first place out of 15 other universities, along with winning nine other awards. The three-year EcoCAR contest is sponsored by more than 25 organizations, including General Motors and U.S. Department of Energy.
Together the sponsors hope to inspire and support the next generation of scientists and engineers to unite around the common goal of sustainable mobility. According to the EcoCAR website, General Motors supplies the vehicles, vehicle components, seed money, technical mentoring and operational support while U.S. Department of Energy administers competition management, team evaluation, technical and logistical support.
Doude explained the importance of this competition as an opportunity to give everyone a chance to contribute to the EcoCAR’s achievement.
“Everyone can’t suit up and help win a football or basketball championship, but someone will hopefully be able to say they helped win an EcoCAR championship,” he said.