COOKEVILLE – Baja teams from all around the world will converge on Tennessee Tech for the Society of Automotive Engineers International to be held April 11-14 at Tech’s Hyder-Burks Agricultural Pavilion.
One hundred teams have signed up representing the United States, India, Mexico, Egypt and Canada, and 60 more are on a waiting list, hoping to get into the intercollegiate design competition run by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).
This is the eighth time Tech has hosted the event, most recently in 2016.
“It’s really exciting to have these schools from all over the world come to Tennessee Tech and be on campus,” said mechanical engineer professor Dale Wilson, who is the faculty advisor for Tech’s Baja team. “We have a veteran crew of people who have been doing this for several years. There are a lot of details and we are working hard every day to get everything ready.”
The Baja competition consists of students designing and building small off-road cars with engines of the same specifications. The cars are put through a series of tests, including an endurance race which includes harsh elements and rough terrain.
“The design process is a great hands-on experience for the students to go through,” said Wilson. “When they get to the competition, they not only race, there is a sales presentation, a design presentation and a technical inspection. It’s a very rigorous process.”
The international competition begins on Thursday, April 11, and wraps up with the endurance race on Sunday, April 14. For more information on the competition, go to: https://www.sae.org/attend/student-events/baja-sae-tennessee-tech/
