Kennesaw State’s Electric Vehicle Team gives students an opportunity to learn more about the emerging world of electric vehicles through hands-on experience.
This student organization meets every Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the Wilder Communications building on the Marietta campus. The meetings, which are open to everyone and are not mandatory, usually entail discussing subjects such as current and future projects, events and workshops.
With over 40 active members, the team ranges from students majoring in electrical engineering to business management.
“The Electric Vehicle Team is an extracurricular club that allows students to apply what they learn in the classroom and get to do hands-on projects”, said Ousman Ndow, president of the team.
Ndow expressed that a goal of the team is to prepare its members to be able to apply their skills in real-world applications. Members also have the opportunity to learn transferable skills, take advantage of networking opportunities and learn how to work on a team.
The EVT’s projects are not limited to electric vehicles. Ndow explained that many students joining the team are freshmen who may need help learning general electrical engineering skills like circuit building.
There are two branches that the team is divided into, the EVGrand Prix Go-Kart division and the Formula Societal Automotive Engineers Electrical division.
The EVGrand Prix is a less competitive and smaller go-kart race in Indianapolis with more relaxed regulations. In this competition, teams are given a base frame for their vehicle and are limited to how much power there can be in the electric motors.
The Formula SAE Electrical division is more competitive and larger in scale. Hosting over 80 similar teams from all over the world, the SAE International competition has more regulations for teams that compete. Vehicles must be built from scratch with strict rules on how the vehicles can be put together.
Currently, the EVT has two go-karts, one that is running and one that is a developmental go-kart for students to learn from. Another goal for the team is to develop an autonomous system on the development of go-karts that would turn them into self-driving vehicles.
The team attends other events such as Maker Faire 2018 in October to showcase their cars and other vehicles. According to Ndow, showcase faires are a good way of getting both high school students and transfer students interested in going to KSU.
“That was the main reason I wanted to come to this school — I wanted to join Formula SAE and be a part of the EVT,” said Ndow.
More information about the Electric Vehicle Team can be found on its Owl Life page.
