Wheel Genius: Seven Detroit-area students dream of their futures as they tackle real-world engineering

Most students look forward to down time when their daily studies are done; evenings and weekends spent watching TV, console gaming, hanging around.

A group of seven students from various schools in Detroit and surrounding areas decided to do something a bit different. How about taking a stock, street-legal gasoline-powered dune buggy and convert it to run on DC electric power?

Sponsored by the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) and Next Energy (Next Energy donated lab space in their downtown facility for the students to use), coordinated by Heroes Alliance (a nonprofit coalition of concerned residents and businesses dedicated to supporting youth), assisted by experts at universities like Michigan Tech and corporations like Nissan, this was no tinker-toy operation. The students were in charge of everything from budgeting to crunching numbers, from construction and programming to media relations. They had to put math, physics, and programming skills to work in order to understand and plan their course of action. They learned to use CAD (Computer Aided Design) programs to design parts.

And, of course, they had to turn the wrenches and invest the sweat to make it all go. In all, the students put over 400 hours each into the project.

There were setbacks, of course. The students wanted to use Lithium-ion batteries for their low weight and high power, but these were way beyond their budget. So they settled for stock lead-acid car batteries. The dune buggy assembly instructions were in a foreign language, and it took a while before they realized that some of their troubles were caused by the roll cage being installed backwards. Like all good engineers, though, the students used their brains and good advice from teachers and collaborators to stomp out the bugs.

Kalen Riley, a freshman at University High School in Ferndale, was part of the team, specializing in mechanical and software aspects of the project. He’s planning to attend Michigan Tech after graduation, and has a campus visit already planned. He bubbled with smarts, energy, and a mature confidence as he told me of his future plans to own a business that specializes in producing electric cars.

“Like Tesla Motors?” I asked. He nodded and smiled in a way that told me that, yes, Tesla was pretty good, but he planned to take it to the next level.

“We’re going to convert the buggy to solar power next.” He told me. The team’s next big project, pending sponsorship, could be building a solar boat, which would take advantage of the sunny conditions people usually choose to go boating in, and the limited amount the engine is used. “The sun charges it, and it’s ready the next day.” Kalen says. Parked out on the water, away from any shadows, the advantages are obvious.

I asked Kalen why engineering is important. “It’s the future,” He returned immediately. “It drives things like transportation, that get us around.” He also pointed to a changing climate. “Engineering gives us the keys to survive.” He said solemnly.