The Hybrid Electric Vehicle Team of Virginia Tech, better known as HEVT, is a nationally recognized undergraduate student design team in the Department of Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical engineering

Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...

 at Virginia Tech. HEVT was formed in 1994 to compete in the 1995 Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) Challenge, one of the many competitions organized by the Argonne National Laboratory

Argonne National Laboratory

Argonne National Laboratory is the first science and engineering research national laboratory in the United States, receiving this designation on July 1, 1946. It is the largest national laboratory by size and scope in the Midwest...

 through the United States Department of Energy

United States Department of Energy

The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...

. HEVT has been involved in the Department of Energy Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTCs) ever since. Such competitions include the '95 HEV Challenge, the '97 Propane Challenge, the FutureCar Challenge, the FutureTruck Challenge, Challenge X

Challenge X

Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility, known more commonly as Challenge X, is a four-year competition series amongst engineering students from across North America. Its purpose is to advance vehicle technology towards a goal of sustainable mobility.The headline sponsors of the competition...

, EcoCAR

EcoCAR

EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge is a three-year competition that builds on the 19-year history of U.S. Department of Energy advanced vehicle technology competitions by giving engineering students the chance to design and build advanced vehicles that demonstrate leading-edge automotive technologies,...

: the NeXt CHallenge. HEVT can attribute a lot of it success in the education of students at Virginia Tech and finishing well at competition to their Advisor, Professor Doug Nelson in Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Nelson has received the Outstanding Faculty Advisor award at competition 3 times. The overall highlights of past competitions are as follows:

Competition	Overall Place
'95 HEV Challenge	Fifth
'96 FutureCar Challenge	First
'97 FutureCar Challenge	Second
'98 FutureCar Challenge	First (tied with Wisconsin)
'99 FutureCar Challenge	Second
'00 FutureTruck Challenge	Third
'05 ChallengeX	Fourth
'06 ChallengeX	First
'07 ChallengeX	Third
'09 EcoCAR	Sixth
'10 EcoCAR	Second
'11 EcoCAR	First

FutureCar

Virginia Tech’s HEVT placed first in the 1996 challenge held in Detroit. In 1996 HEVT also received awards for best workmanship, most energy efficient vehicle, lowest regulated tailpipe emissions, best use of alternative fuels, and overall best dynamic handling. The 1996 vehicle was based on a 1995 Chevrolet Lumina

Chevrolet Lumina

The North American Chevrolet Lumina sedan , coupe and minivan were first introduced in 1989 for the 1990 model year as a new range of vehicles from the Chevrolet brand of General Motors to replace the Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Celebrity sedan, and the Monte Carlo coupe. The Lumina was an answer...

, donated through PNGV, which utilized a General Electric

General Electric

General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

 electric motor, a three cylinder Geo Metro engine, and a large battery pack. The vehicle, fueled by propane, could go 600 miles without refueling while getting between 40 and 50 mpgge

Miles per gallon gasoline equivalent

Miles per gallon gasoline equivalent is a measure of the average distance traveled per unit of energy consumed. MPGe is used by the U.S...

 (Crumbley 1996).

HEVT placed second in the 1997 competition (UW 1997).

HEVT tied with the University of Wisconsin team for first place in the 1998 FutureCar Challenge (Launey 1998). That year HEVT also won awards for best consumer acceptability, best vehicle design inspection, best acceleration, best dynamic handling, best overall engineering design, and best solo autocross (ECE News 1998).

During the 1999 FutureCar Challenge, HEVT’s entry became the first vehicle during the competition series to operate as a functional hydrogen

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...

 fuel cell

Fuel cell

A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is the most common fuel, but hydrocarbons such as natural gas and alcohols like methanol are sometimes used...

 vehicle; at the time the vehicle was considered to be one of only a handful of operable fuel cell vehicles in the world (Lypen 1999). The fuel cell used in the vehicle was provided by the U. S. Department of Defense

United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...

 and carried a price tag of $250,000 USD

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

 (VT Magazine 1999). This 1999 entry was based on a 1998 Chevrolet Lumina and was designed as a series hybrid operating with the hydrogen fuel cell, a custom built lead acid battery, and an AC induction motor drivetrain. HEVT placed second in the 1999 competition.

FutureTruck

After the 1999 competition series ended, the FutureCar program was replaced with the FutureTruck program. The FutureTruck program was created to address the environmental and energy related issues created by the increased demand of SUV’s

Sport utility vehicle

A sport utility vehicle is a generic marketing term for a vehicle similar to a station wagon, but built on a light-truck chassis. It is usually equipped with four-wheel drive for on- or off-road ability, and with some pretension or ability to be used as an off-road vehicle. Not all four-wheel...

 in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. Fifteen engineering schools from across North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 were accepted as the participants in this five-year engineering program. The goal of the competition was to re-engineer a popular SUV to a lower emissions vehicle with an improvement of at least 25% in fuel economy

Fuel economy in automobiles

Fuel usage in automobiles refers to the fuel efficiency relationship between distance traveled by an automobile and the amount of fuel consumed....

. Each entrant vehicle also was required to meet safety, performance, and utility goals. Main sponsors of the FutureTruck program include the U.S. Department of Energy’s

United States Department of Energy

The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...

 Office of Efficiency and Renewable Energy, General Motors

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

, and the Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

. The program was managed by Argonne National Laboratory's Center for Transportation Research (FutureTruck).

HEVT had only five months to complete the conversion of their 2000 FutureTruck entry vehicle based on a stock Chevy Suburban. This entry from Virginia Tech won first place at the 2000 competition which began on June 7, 2000. The 2000 FutureTruck competition was held at the General Motors

General Motors

General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...

 Desert Proving Grounds in Mesa, Arizona

Mesa, Arizona

According to the 2010 Census, the racial composition of Mesa was as follows:* White: 77.1% * Hispanic or Latino : 26.54%* Black or African American: 3.5%* Two or more races: 3.4%* Native American: 2.4%...

.

During the 2002 competition, HEVT was awarded the MathWorks Teamwork & Leadership Award.

During the 2003 competition, HEVT was awarded the Spirit of the Challenge Award, and also received a third place award in the National Instruments Most Innovative Use of Virtual Instrumentation category.

ChallengeX