7/10/2008 5:01:00 AM Ridgeland native helps MSU win national competition
By SEAN GRIFFIN Staff Reporter
Ridgeland native Philip Cranford works on his own car. He has also rebuilt a motorcycle and restored a few cars. So when he learned about a competition that would give him "hands on" experience in the automotive field, he jumped at the chance.
Mississippi State University started a team four years ago that would compete in Challenge X -- a General Motors sponsored contest emphasizing low emissions and minimized energy consumption. MSU topped 16 other universities to claim first-place in the competition.
Cranford showed up for the first Challenge X meeting and has been working with the team ever since. The mechanical engineering student said Challenge X has given him real world experience while still in college.
"I'm learning stuff that would have taken me years to learn elsewhere," Cranford said.
General Motors gave the team a Chevrolet Equinox to reconfigure with the goal of increased fuel economy and decreased emissions.
Cranford said he has put a lot of work into the mechanical aspects of the challenge, but the bigger challenge may have been overcoming the reputation, or lack thereof, that MSU has in automotive education.
Dr. Marshall Molen, faculty advisor for Challenge X, said the fact that MSU has competed against schools with established automotive engineering programs is amazing.
"Here you have a group of young people with very little coursework to support [them in the project] and very little practical experience at the university level, and they have excelled and surpassed other universities that have been doing it for years," Molen said.
But Molen also thinks the students success comes from their passion for cars.
"They're applying something they love and enjoy," he said. "This has caused them to stretch their imagination."
Over the four years the students have been planning, rebuilding and marketing the car. The first year students weren't allowed to work on the actual car, instead studying plans and designing features from computers. The second year students were given an Equinox, and Mollen said the students stripped the 22 mile per gallon car and rebuilt a hybrid.
In the third year the students refined the car and then spent the fourth year mostly in public relations. Students utilized and learned about promotion from MSU's marketing program. A resource that Mollen admits "has been a fantastic experience for all of us."
The University of Wisconsin at Madison and Ohio State University took second and third respectively in the competition, and Cranford attributes MSU's success to the fact that their 44 mpg car was so different from its competitors.
"A lot of the cars you can tell its a hybrid," he said. "Ours drives, looks and rides like a regular car."
The team has been very collaborative with the project, Mollen explained.
"The students quickly learned that this project is far too great for any one person or even two or three people to attack," he said.
Mollen said Cranford has also been an important member for the team. He praised Cranford as an "impressive young man" and someone Mollen is glad he got to know. The team has benefitted from Cranford's contributions, Mollen said, and is "someone the community should be proud of."
A three year competition is coming up for the Challenge X team now. The contest, EcoCAR, will challenge students to build advanced propulsion solutions exploring various energy options.
