Georgia Institute of Technology – Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions

About

Georgia Tech’s EcoCAR EV Challenge team stands out as a unique and vibrant force in the world of sustainable automotive innovation. As Georgia Tech’s sole team that functions as a Vertically Integrated Program class, our dedicated student members invest countless hours in the project, bridging the gap between education and real-world experience. This hands-on approach not only enriches their academic journey but also cultivates valuable job skills for future careers.

Diversity is a cornerstone of the team’s identity. With members hailing from 10 countries, our team embodies a global perspective. It has 10 leads, spanning from undergraduate to PhD students, and two faculty advisors with backgrounds in mechanical engineering who guide and support the team. Despite welcoming numerous new members this year, our team remains deeply engaged and cohesive, fostering a tight-knit community that thrives on collaboration and innovation.

Together, the team is working relentlessly to transform its EcoCAR EV Challenge competition vehicle into a sustainable, cutting-edge vehicle, driving progress towards a greener future.

MISSION

Georgia Tech strives to create a team that will produce a safe and efficient vehicle and an inclusive and positive team environment throughout EcoCAR EV Challenge. The team will root DEI into its core principles and ensure that every team member feels at home as they grow their skills professionally and technically for the best career possibilities post-graduation. Lastly, the team will represent Georgia Tech professionally and with the utmost respect to others.

GOALS

Create a diverse and inclusive DEI landscape within the Georgia Tech team throughout EcoCAR EV Challenge to ensure members feel valued and excited to work.
Promote the Georgia Tech team and its efforts to local youth, the Georgia Tech Community, and overall the Atlanta population.
Provide our students with diverse opportunities to improve their professional skills to support any avenue they hope to pursue.

Team Members

Dr. Michael Leamy

Lead Faculty Advisor

LinkedIn Profile

Michael J. Leamy joined the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Tech, as an Assistant Professor in August 2007. He was later promoted to Associate Professor (2012) and Professor (2018). He received his B.S. from Clarkson University (1993), and his M.S., and Ph.D. (1995, 1998) from The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, all in Mechanical Engineering. Professor Leamy’s research interests are in emerging and multidisciplinary areas of engineering science, with an emphasis on nonlinear dynamical behavior in structures, materials, and complex systems. Emerging engineering materials of particular interest include acoustic metamaterials, topological insulators, and reciprocity-breaking nonlinear lattices. Other nonlinear dynamical systems of interest include hybrid vehicle powertrains and vehicle accessory drives.

Dr. David Taylor

Lead Faculty Advisor

David Taylor received his BS degree from the University of Tennessee, and the MS and PhD degrees from the University of Illinois, all in Electrical Engineering. He has been on the ECE faculty at Georgia Tech for 34 years, and he has been serving as a faculty advisor on Georgia Tech’s EcoCAR team for 12 years. His teaching and research focus on control systems theory and applications, and his EcoCAR activities focus mainly on the PCM and CAV sub teams

Dr. Antonia Antoniou

Faculty Advisor

LinkedIn Profile

Dr. Antoniou is a Professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. Her research is focused on thermomechanical testing and reliability of electronics and structural components. She led the development of NCorr, the most used open-source digital image correlation code built in MATLAB, which provides experimental measurements of material deformation and strain across scales. Dr. Antoniou served as the inaugural member and subsequent Chair of the Georgia Tech College of Engineering Diversity and Inclusion Council. The Council’s mission is to identify and advocate on issues of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for faculty, staff and students across the College of Engineering.

Eamon Flaherty

Project Manager

LinkedIn Profile

I am a second-year mechanical engineering master’s student, having also gone to Georgia Tech for my undergraduate mechanical engineering degree. I have been on the team for 6 years, have been the Propulsion Systems Integration lead for 1.5 years, and have been project manager for a year. I have participated in EcoCAR3, EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, and now EcoCAR EV Challenge.

Sydney Davis

Communications Manager

LinkedIn Profile

I am a 5^thyear Business Student pursuing my Undergrad concentrating in Operations and Supply Chain Management with a minor in Marketing. I have been a part of the team as the Communications Manager since fall of 2020.

Angel Garcia

Communications Manager

LinkedIn Profile

I am a third-year mechanical engineering undergrad student at Georgia Tech, concentrating in design. I recently joined the EcoCAR team this year.

McKaela Kramer

Communications Manager

LinkedIn Profile

I am a fourth year LMC undergraduate student at Georgia Tech specializing in Literature and Communications. This is my first year on the EcoCAR team.

Michelle Warren

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Manager

LinkedIn Profile

Hello! I’m Michelle Warren. I’m a second year Electrical Engineering PhD student with 5+ years of industry experience in research and development. I’ve contributed and spearheaded autonomous perception projects and machine learning projects at Boeing and Lawrence Livermore National Labs. My focus for my PhD is in both Digital Signal Processing and Bioengineering.

Prathik Reddy

Systems, Design, & Integration Lead

LinkedIn Profile

As a first-year PhD student in Mechanical Engineering Department at Georgia Tech, I am a new addition to the EcoCAR team. I graduated from IIT Bombay this year with bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering.

Braeden Dickson

Propulsion, Controls, & Modeling Lead

LinkedIn Profile

I am a first-year masters student studying computer engineering. I also went to Georgia Tech for my undergraduate degree in computer engineering. I have been on the team for four years and have worked on both the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge and now the EcoCAR EV Challenge.

Laurence Leon

Connected Automated Vehicle Systems Lead

LinkedIn Profile

I am a first-year master’s student in the school of electrical and computer engineering at Georgia Tech. I received a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech, during which I focused on controls and was a part of the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge team during Spring 2021.

GET Involved

The Georgia Tech EcoCAR team operates through the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) program. Students wishing to join the team can check out our team wiki any time here and submit an application to sub-teams you are interested in using the sub-team specific google forms found on the wiki here. New members are admitted to the team the week before the start of each semester. We meet weekly on Thursdays from 11-11:50 in Klaus 1440. Students who have applied for the sub-teams will be contacted for a brief introduction and the next steps will be discussed then. Interested students can also reach out to our communications team, Angel Garcia, at agarcia330@gatech.edu with any questions about opportunities on the team or the onboarding process.

GEORGIA TECH

About

MISSION

GOALS