UMD News

Director of Public Relations:
Susan Beasy Latto, slatto@d.umn.edu
315 Darland Administration Bldg.
1049 University Drive
Duluth, MN 55812
(218) 726-8830 Cell: (218) 348-5688
Fax: (218) 726-7413

April 3, 2006

Contact:
Susan Beasy Latto, Director, UMD Public Relations 218 726-8830 slatto@d.umn.edu
Stanley G. Burns, Professor and Head, UMD Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering 218 726 7506 sburns@d.umn.edu

Six UMD engineering students earned three first-place recognitions in the Clean Snowmobile Challenge, an intercollegiate engineering design competition sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers, held in mid-March at the Michigan Technological University Keweenaw Research Center.

Pictured Left to right are: Nathan Warfield, Chris Callender, Patrick Shaver, Derek Pederson, Derek Zimney, and Shane O'Brien.

The UMD students earned first place recognitions in the categories of Acceleration, Handling, and Best Performance, and won an overall standing of second place out of the 13 colleges participating..

The Clean Snowmobile Challenge challenges engineering students to re-engineer an existing snowmobile for improved emissions and noise while maintaining or improving the performance characteristics of the original snowmobile. The snowmobiles are required to be cost effective.

Students from the UMD Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mechanical and Industrial Engineering modified the mechanical and electrical systems of a snowmobile which was donated by the Polaris Corporation.

Faculty adviser for the students is Professor Stanley Burns, head of the UMD Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The UMD Engineering students are:
Shane O'Brien---Albertville, MN
Nathan Warfield---Harris, MN
Patrick Shaver---Cottage Grove, MN
Derek Pederson---Warroad, MN
Derek Zimney---Baudette, MN
Chris Callender---Braham, MN