Watch: Student-Built Eco-Vehicle Returns to National Competition
From left: Persis Ratouis '17, Neil Macfarland '15, and Andrew Grasberger '15 are members of the team taking their energy-efficient vehicle to the Shell Eco-marathon in Detroit this weekend.
Fox 29: Swarthmore College students compete in Shell's Eco Marathon
Update: The Swarthmore team finished third in the hydrogen-powered vehicle category at the eco-marathon
For the third consecutive year, a team of Swarthmore students will be entering an energy-efficient vehicle into the Shell Eco-marathon, which takes places in Detroit this weekend.
The team's three-wheeled, red fiberglass-paneled vehicle generates electricity thanks to a hydrogen fuel cell and runs the equivalent of less than 1,300 miles per gallon of gasoline. Since last year's competition, the team has added a closed top for the vehicle and made alterations to the steering mechanism.
The team heading to Detroit consists of Neil Macfarland '15, an engineering major from Arnold, Md., Andrew Grasberger '15, a computer science major from Trapp, Pa., Persis Ratouis '17, an engineering major from Austin, Tex., and Winnie Ngo '15, a computer science major from Oakland, Calif. The team will be looking to improve on last year's second place finish among hydrogen-powered vehicles. In 2013, Eric Verhasselt '13, who started building the school's car in 2012, finished third out of six in the same category.
McFarland recently appeared on FOX 29 to talk about the car.
