Constructing a collegiate Motorsports Engineering program

Pete Hylton, Scott Raymond, Wendy Otoupal-Hylton
2012 2012 Frontiers in Education Conference Proceedings  
A handful of universities have capitalized on the increased visibility of the sport of auto racing and the growth in the motorsports industry. These universities are increasing enrollment by offering courses that prepare students for potential careers in motorsports. Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) hired a new professor with experience in the aerospace industry and twenty-five years as both a competitor and event organizer in auto racing. His addition to the faculty
more » ... orded the opportunity for the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI to focus on creating a motorsports program. The steps that were followed in creation of this motorsports program will be covered. This will include a discussion of how new classes were selected, developed, and implemented. The design of applicable student projects will be considered, including how these various projects were utilized in the design and construction of an actual competition vehicle. Fostering of industry involvement and internships will be a topic, as will the building of interdisciplinary cooperation between university departments. The progress of the new classes and the level of student interest and enrollment will be shared. A critical part of this process is how the new classes fit with the traditional classes and existing curriculum. Additionally, the progress toward the goal of construction of a campus motorsports team will be shown.
doi:10.1109/fie.2012.6462367 dblp:conf/fie/HyltonRO12 fatcat:uvj2zetkqndqno2vyj5lvlwz3m