Like many other industries, the future leaders in automobility incubate on college campuses across the United States. In this episode, host Dennis Wisco comes to you from the Aztec Racing Team workshop with Team President Dani Phan and Chief Engineer Austin Hoang at San Diego State University to kick off a series highlighting Formula SAE clubs on college campuses.
Formula SAE is an international collegiate design competition that challenges student teams to design and manufacture an open-wheel race car during the academic year. There are two annual Formula SAE competitions in the United States that consist of three judged phases – Design, Performance, and Business. Because of this, to perform well, team members are expected to have not only high-performance racing vehicles, but also excellent project management, teamwork, and business skills.
Aztec Racing is a non-profit student organization at San Diego State University that welcomes all current students at the school regardless of their declared major. Founded in 1994 with limited resources and low student interest, Aztec Racing has since gone on to receive many recognitions within the Formula SAE organization, including the SAE Perseverance Award for being one of the top three rookie teams at the FSAE West Competition in Fontana, California in 2008. This academic year, Aztec Racing was fortunate enough to receive increased funding from the SDSU Student Org’s allotted budget, which will allow them to make more creative choices with their entry, while still following a structured production cycle, use industry-standard simulation software to aid design, and use quantifiable data to justify design choices.
In this episode, Dennis, Dani, and Austin discuss leadership in automobility spaces, design constraints of student-engineered racing vehicles, and hot topics in the future of automobility like electric vehicles. Tune in to hear how participation in Formula SAE teams like Aztec Racing instill a hunger for young engineers to influence the business models for the mobility of people and goods for the future.
Aztec Racing feat. Dani Phan and Austin Hoang