A Letter to the EcoCAR Graduating Class of 2021

Congratulations on reaching two major milestones – earning a college degree from a top university and joining the prestigious network of alumni of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTC). You join more than 25,000 other AVTC alumni who have helped shape mobility for more than three decades.

You all rose to the occasion and made the most of this program this year. You excelled even under the challenging conditions of the ongoing pandemic. You united and adapted. For that, we want to recognize all your extraordinary work with your EcoCAR team. Your enthusiastic dedication to the competition has demonstrated that you are truly a leader of your generation for advancing the ideas that will create lasting energy solutions.

As you know, this partnership between government, industry and academia aims to solve real-world, technical challenges. It also exemplifies the commitment to developing the workforce for the next generation of engineers and scientists. You represent the best and the brightest in engineering and are pushing the auto industry forward and moving toward clean energy jobs. These efforts will help boost the energy efficiency of vehicles and lead the way for cleaner, more affordable mobility.

Thank you for your dedication to your teams, to the automotive industry and to EcoCAR.

We join our fellow sponsors including General Motors and MathWorks, to thank you once again for your service, and we wish you all the best as you embark on your career and future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Kelly Speakes-Backman

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary & Acting Assistant Secretary for Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy

Paul Kearns

Laboratory Director, Argonne National Laboratory

Congratulations to our Graduating Students: