The NIU Supermileage team has earned the “super” in its name. And then some.
The team took top honors at a recent international competition in California when the gasoline-fueled vehicle it created achieved a whopping 1,525 miles per gallon.
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DeKalb — The NIU Supermileage team has earned the “super” in its name. And then some.
The team took top honors at a recent international competition in California when the gasoline-fueled vehicle it created achieved a whopping 1,525 miles per gallon.
That’s nearly the distance from DeKalb to California — all on a single gallon of gas.
The team bested 27 competitors from throughout the world, including top teams from California Polytechnic University, Milwaukee School of Engineering, University Laval of Quebec, Brigham Young University and the University of British Columbia, at the 13th annual Shell Eco-Marathon Americas. The competition took place April 3-6 at Sonoma Raceway.
“We’re not only a team, we’re a lot like a family,” said Lauren Bangert (left), the driver of the NIU Supermileage Team’s vehicle.
As team member Lauren Bangert put it, “We got the job done.”
NIU’s Supermileage team earned first place in the Internal Combustion Engine Prototype category, the team’s best placement in its 10 years of existence at NIU.
The Shell competition pits teams of students from throughout the world against one another. The students design, build and drive single-occupant, ultra-fuel-efficient vehicles in an effort to create the most energy-efficient car.
It takes talent, time and ingenuity to hand-build the Huskie Rocket. Team members work from the ground up, starting with in-house designing all the way to machining and fine-tuning.
“These students really epitomize the capabilities and high quality of our students in engineering. They are extremely dedicated,” said Dean Donald Peterson of the NIU College of Engineering and Engineering Technology.
In its eighth year at the Shell competition, the team already had a reputation as a successful team, but the championship took members by surprise.