The Virginia Tech EcoCAR 2 team does a lot of community events, influencer outreach and youth sustainability education. None of that would be possible without the help of platinum-level sponsor the Virginia Clean Cities coalition. Late last semester, Virginia Tech met with a few representatives from VCC and set gears in motion for strong collaboration in Year 3.
VCC executive director Alleyn Harned and VCC intern Brandon Walraven came down from their Harrisonburg, Va. office to visit Virginia Tech’s Joseph F. Ware Jr. Advanced Engineering Lab. They took a quick tour of the lab and got a hands-on look at the progress they been making with their vehicle, Mary the Malibu.
“It was great to get to see the progress VT has made with their vehicle so far in Year 3,” Harned said. “I’m glad we got a chance to sit down and chat about our partnership and, of course, get introduced to Mary. We’re going to do a lot of great things together this year.”
During a lunch meeting the groups discussed plans to partner on a large consumer event in Roanoke this April. This will be Roanoke’s first-ever alternative fuel vehicle car show, and it will showcase all of the new models and advanced vehicle technologies on the market. Virginia Tech and VCC want to educate the public about these new vehicles and their benefits. Stay tuned for updates on this excellent event later this year!
The mission of the Clean Cities program is to help reduce dependence on imported petroleum products by promoting alternative fuel use in the transportation sector. Sponsored by the Department of Energy, they are instrumental in cultivating an advanced transportation community in which people learn about a wide range of options and technologies.
To keep up with Virginia Tech’s collaboration with VCC, like them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.
