In the back of the Baldor Technology Center, surrounded by welding and machine equipment, is the metal skeleton of a car. Designed and built by students of the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith mechanical engineering program, the car will be entered in the Society of Automotive Engineers three-day Mini Baja East national competition April 13-15 at Auburn University in Alabama.


Dr. David Paulus, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and his students took the design of last year’s class project prototype that was not intended to compete, changed it, and built a new car to actually compete this year.


“We stole a lot of parts from the prototype,” said Paulus. “We looked at that one and said, ‘Ok, the old frame is too heavy,’ so we designed and built a lighter frame and re-used some of last year’s parts for this year’s car.”


Dr. Paulus said the new car is designed for land and water, since during the course of the race the car must travel through creeks and ponds. The race is composed of three events: static, dynamic, and endurance.


“Static simply means the car meets safety criteria,” Dr. Paulus said. “Dynamic includes, braking, acceleration, traction, hill climbing and water maneuverability.”


Dr. Paulus joked that endurance is, “A big race where everyone crashes into each other,” but he said, “The endurance race could last up to four hours.”


Dr. Paulus appointed team leaders Ryan Hawkins of Fort Smith to oversee land performance and Tyler Loukota of Van Buren to oversee water performance. Other team leaders named were Marvin Betnar of Fort Smith and Randy Varnell of Paris. Hawkins had experience working with Brock Shulte, Andy Bland, Robert Harrison and Brent Roper on the prototype car built in 2005.


Hawkins said the experience of working on both projects was “invaluable.”


“I got to learn a lot of things that most mechanical engineers don’t learn in school,” Hawkins said. “Most schools design theirs, but they send it off for someone else to build. The big difference here is we design and build our stuff.”


Kurt Coslett, a freshman originally from Springdale, said what he will take away from the class is knowledge he can use for the future.


“Learning how everything works, the design process, the consideration, how to account for everything — it will all will help me when applying for a job,” Coslett said.


Brandon Lowdermilk of Greenwood, also a freshman, said, for him, “The learning experience is important. That’s really big in the job market. They look at your grades, but the main thing is experience.”


Coslett agreed: “It’s a rarity for a freshman to get to do something like this,” he said.


Lowdermilk said Dr. Paulus sat down with the class to discuss the future:


“We had a meeting with Dr. Paulus about what we wanted to do with the rest of our lives,” Lowdermilk said. “In the real world, you have to work as a team. Each one has to pull his own weight.”


Coslett said each member of the team was important.


“Everyone here has a special part that they play, but there are just a few people who had the whole look of the car,” Coslett said.


Dr. Paulus’ hopes were clear: “I want to win it. That’s my goal. We’re thinking first place this year.”


Six to eight students will be selected to participate in the Mini Baja race. Other students who helped build and design the car include Kyle Senia, Alma; Kyle Beam, Barling; Johnathan Rylee, Berryville; Tyler Bernard, Clarksville; Brian Ash, Elkins; Jayson McGaugh, Dayton; Calvin Mastin, Fort Smith; John Lemley, Greenwood; Eric Rudy, Mountainburg; Joe Baxter, Panama, Okla.; Matt Goodson, Russellville; Kevin Blatz, Tulsa, Okla.; and Joe Rutherford, West Fork.


The teams not only had to build and design their car, but raise their own money. Their primary sponsor is BorgWarner, a manufacturer of automotive parts, who donated $3,000. Shamrock Bolt and Screw also donated hardware for the project.