| Faculty of Engineering Dean Professor Chris Cook with UOW’s wor... Faculty of Engineering Dean Professor Chris Cook with UOW’s world championship-winning race car, that is now on display in Building 8 after spending more than a year at the Powerhouse Museum |
World champion race car home from the Powerhouse Museum
24 Dec 2007 | Nick Hartgerink
The University of Wollongong’s world champion racing car has come “home” to go on display in the Faculty of Engineering after being on exhibition at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum since 2006.
The car, which was designed, built and driven by students from UOW’s Faculty of Engineering, in 2003 won the international Formula SAE championship at Detroit.
It is now on display on the ground floor of UOW’s recently refurbished Building 8.
Formula SAE is a competition between universities conducted by the Society of Automotive Engineers with support from the world’s biggest car manufacturers, who see it as an ideal way to encourage young engineers and give them experience in a highly competitive environment.
The University of Wollongong has been Australia’s most successful participant in Formula SAE competition. Its victory in the United States in May 2003 was the first by a non-American team and capped off a remarkable run of success by UOW Racing teams.
Since building its first car in 2001 the team has competed in 10 campaigns - six in Australasia and four in the United States. It has won four times - three in Australasia (2001, 2002 and 2004) and the 2003 event in Detroit against 130 competitors.
In October 2005 UOW Racing won its category in the 2005 Engineering Excellence Awards for NSW – prompting the Powerhouse Museum to invite it to exhibit the 2003 world title-winning car in an Engineering display at the museum.
Faculty of Engineering Dean Professor Chris Cook said putting the car on display was a good way to celebrate the team’s achievements over the years.
“Formula SAE is a fine test of engineering excellence, in a range of disciplines including mechanical, civil and electrical,” Professor Cook said. “Success at Formula SAE requires a complete engineering approach, as well as excellence in management, promotion and looking after sponsors. It gives students wonderful skills to take with them to the workforce after they graduate.”
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