This year, The Ohio State University EcoCAR team was paired with the Transportation Research Center (TRC) for our sponsor collaboration activity. Our team was incredibly excited to work with TRC, as they are located near our university and team’s facilities. EcoCAR and TRC have collaborated previously, so we were also eager to grow our relationship with the center and continue to develop integral automotive and autonomous knowledge through their expertise in the industry.
In order to highlight the Transportation Research Center’s progress in the automotive and autonomous industry, our EcoCAR team created a promotional video. This video provides a high-level overview of TRC and why they are important to their surrounding community and transportation in Ohio, and even the nation. It also introduces and portrays the hard work of our EcoCAR team and how TRC has helped foster our success. The video encourages viewers to visit the TRC’s website and examine all of the unique opportunities currently available at the research institute. In order to create the video, TRC and EcoCAR worked together to capture footage of the Chevy Blazer that will be featured in this year’s AVTC Series Competition. TRC also provided additional footage of their facilities being utilized to test autonomous and other innovative vehicles. The video’s voiceover was done by one of Ohio State EcoCAR’s Propulsion Controls & Modeling (PCM) team leads, Gage Sovey. This video is an exceptional example of not only our important relationship with the Transportation Research Center, but it also highlights how each of the two organizations work both together and independently to change the future of the automotive industry.
The Transportation and Research Center’s ongoing contribution and this year’s collaboration with the EcoCAR team is important because they provide an opportunity to see how our team’s contributions benefit the entire Columbus community. TRC is an exemplification of excellence and innovation in the automotive industry, so working with experts at this facility is extremely beneficial to members of the EcoCAR team. It gives students the chance to gain real-world experience outside of their classroom and organizations at Ohio State. The wonderful relationship the school and Center for Automotive Research has with TRC also allows students to network with people in the automotive industry and see engineers in different roles within the automotive sector. Not only does TRC continually support The Ohio State EcoCAR program, but they also make great contributions to the Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions on a higher level. The research center frequently hosts participating collegiate teams at their facility in Marysville for vehicle testing. The recent opening of the Smart Corridor on US Route 33 portrays their vast advancements in the Ohio sector of transpiration and is an inspiration to the EcoCAR program and the entire AVTC Series.
The Ohio State EcoCAR team is grateful to have such a groundbreaking research facility so close to our own facilities. The relationships built through our collaboration and production of a promotional video this year will continue to grow throughout the coming years of the competition. During our collaboration, we worked closely with Avery Kelly, the Communications Specialists at TRC. Avery highlighted how this partnership also benefits their organization as well:
“Our team at TRC values our partnership with EcoCAR. It’s rewarding and energizing to work with the future leaders in transportation. The transportation industry is at a turning point and we appreciate Ohio State’s team for helping to shine a light on the cutting-edge jobs of the future that we have available at our proving grounds. The team had great professionalism – and creative ideas – and went right to work to create a video that could be shared with auto tech stakeholders across the nation. We look forward to seeing all the EcoCAR students in future competitions as well as in the in the professional world, making the industry even better than it is today.”
We are so thankful to have partnered with the Transportation Research Center and look forward to our further collaboration with an organization who so greatly impacts the entire transportation industry.
