University of Nevada, Las Vegas & College of Southern Nevada

The University of Nevada Las Vegas is excited to partner with the College of Southern Nevada in the first-ever Battery Workforce Challenge. For year two of the competition, the Nevada-based team is made up of 19 university and four vocational students, encompassing a wide variety of disciplines including electrical, mechanical, and entertainment engineering and design; computer science; advanced manufacturing; and electrical utilities.

The team's working diligently to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to deliver a custom-designed battery pack to successfully integrate it within a fully electric vehicle system. This process will include gaining hands-on experience in current areas of the design, testing and manufacturing processes, and it will include working to innovate in potential areas — from form factor, structural integration, rechargeability, energy density, cost, durability, safety and modularity.

Through this competition, students are eager to attain new skills that will be utilized as part of the future electric vehicle workforce. The UNLV & CSN team's vision is for these two institutions to play a critical role in the future of Nevada's battery development. As the team proceeds through this challenge, it aims to further establish Las Vegas as a technology hub, utilizing its rich battery-related resources and attracting more connections to the corporate world through sponsorships and internships. 

The UNLV-CSN Battery Workforce Challenge team is committed to enhancing student learning experience through hands-on effort for cutting edge technology. Through the BWC, UNLV ensures student engagement with the progression of human knowledge and sustainable innovation.

In the third year of the Battery Workforce Challenge, the UNLV-CSN team is prepared to produce a functional and winning battery pack by the following goals:

1. Our team will focus recruitment efforts on the vocational side to produce a strong foundation in manufacturing of our battery pack. 
2. Our technical team has seen a restructure that is sure to promote greater cooperation to expedite our design process and put on the finishing touches early in the year. 
3. Our communications and project management changes also bring along new goals, including the production of a team website to manage deliverables and roster information.