BY: Marcella Dudek, Communications Manager for the Wayne State University EcoCAR 3 Team
Wayne State University (WSU), located in the automotive capital of the world, offers the nation’s first, and perhaps only, Electric-drive Vehicle Engineering (EVE) Program. This graduate program concentrates on teaching the knowledge and skills that are essential for the development of hybrid electric vehicle technologies. The EVE program offers courses such as EVE 5120 “Fundamentals of Battery Systems for Electric and Hybrid Vehicle” and EVE 5430 “Modeling and Control of Electric-drive Powertrains.” Co-director for the program, Dr. Jerry Ku, also serves as the WSU’s EcoCAR 3 team faculty adviser. The rich experience students gain from the academic EVE program is greatly enhanced through the EcoCAR 3 competition. This competition gives hands-on practical knowledge that bridges the gap between student and professional.
Dr. Ku has described the program as advantageous to all those who are involved. “Students really get an intense preparation for what they are going to get in the industry,” Ku states, “and as a result, I think industries seem them as more prepared and more motived.” With the EcoCAR competition and the EVE program, Wayne State students involved not only Aim Higher, but also Aim Hybrid in expanding the knowledge and capacity of this newly growing field.
