EcoCAR 2 Team from University of Victoria Wins MathWorks Award for Model-Based Design

NATICK, MA -- July 17, 2014: MathWorks today announced that University of Victoria has won the MathWorks Modeling Award as part of the EcoCAR 2 collegiate engineering competition. The award recognizes the team’s use of MATLAB and Simulink for Model-Based Design during the three-year project-based learning competition where students were tasked with the real-world challenge of reengineering a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu by improving its fuel efficiency and reducing its emissions while retaining its performance and consumer appeal. Other schools to place included Ohio State University and Virginia Tech, winning second and third place respectively.

“Students gain valuable experience with the hardware and software used in professional environments in solving everyday engineering problems. MathWorks was very impressed with the students’ ingenuity when applying Model-Based Design concepts while using MATLAB and Simulink.”

Through the use of modeling and simulation, the teams solved the engineering challenge at hand, demonstrating a possible solution through a presentation and Q&A session coinciding with the conclusion of the three-year competition. Winners were assessed on how well they applied Model-Based Design concepts using MathWorks tools, including the key areas of plant modeling, control design and tuning, data analysis, and industrial grade Model-Based Design development process elements.

“Student competitions are a great hands-on, project-based learning opportunity that challenges our next generation of engineers with real-world technical problems,” said Paul Smith, Consulting Services, MathWorks. “Students gain valuable experience with the hardware and software used in professional environments in solving everyday engineering problems. MathWorks was very impressed with the students’ ingenuity when applying Model-Based Design concepts while using MATLAB and Simulink.”

Learn how these EcoCAR 2 teams define Model-Based Design and what it means to them in these two videos: University of Victoria and Ohio State.

Learn how Virginia Tech used MATLAB and Simulink to develop controls for their EcoCAR 2 in this video.

To be eligible for the award, teams must be active participants in EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future, a competition organized by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors. The teams use Model-Based Design, an approach in which a virtual model is at the center of system development, from initial design and simulation through testing and implementation. The contestants used online and offline parallel optimization of fuel economy at the vehicle level.

About EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future

EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future is a three-year collegiate engineering program that builds on the successful 25-year history of Department of Energy advanced vehicle technology competitions by giving engineering students the chance to design and build advanced vehicles that demonstrate leading-edge, eco-friendly automotive technologies. General Motors provides each of the 15 competing teams with a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, as well as vehicle components, seed money, technical mentoring and operational support. The U.S. Department of Energy and its research and development facility, Argonne National Laboratory, provide competition management, team evaluation and logistical support. Through this important public/private partnership, EcoCAR 2 provides invaluable experience and training to promising young minds entering the North American job market. EcoCAR 2 follows the widely acclaimed competition series EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge.