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What Fall 2020 Means to Us
This semester has been a trying time for all of us, but as a team, we are determined to persevere and overcome the challenges of workshop access restriction, budget cuts, and the general virtual setting we are operating in. With this unprecedented setback, the team has had time to re-evaluate our production timeline to be more fluid and efficient with manufacturing and knowledge transfer within the team allowing us to pursue the fine-tuning of last year's vehicle, ARG19, while simultaneously building our next vehicle ARG20.
We need your help to push forward with the fabrication of our next electric race car ARG20 as well as taking ARG19 to competition this Spring.
The Cornell FSAE Racing Team
Cornell’s Formula SAE Team was established in 1986. For the past 31 years, we have been designing, manufacturing, and building a Formula One-style racecar. We started with one team and a dozen students, all majoring in mechanical engineering, and have grown the organization to be a 60+ student-run team with 11 sub-teams and students who major in a variety of subjects from Engineering to Hospitality. As the reigning world champions, with 9 victories at Michigan International Speedway, Cornell Racing has become synonymous with innovation and success.
The Production Process
Throughout our 6-stage design process, we use ANSYS, Autodesk Inventor, and Star-CCM+ to design and refine our ideas. Once we have completed the design phase, we begin our manufacturing phase where we machine parts using mills, lathes, and CNC machines. After creating molds for our carbon fiber monocoque we meticulously lay-up that carbon fiber to reveal the exterior of our hand-built racecar. After manufacturing and building the car, we focus our time tuning to ensure that our car and drivers are unmatched at competition. Our project team is designed to mimic the automotive industry's design cycle and our alumni have gone on to become successful and innovative leaders across a variety of industries.
Please note, Sponsorship logos will be sized proportionately to their tier, and part donations will be categorized in the tier of equivalent value for the part gifted.
Meet the Team Leads
David Faris | Powertrain Team Lead | Class of 2021
Mechanical Engineering Major, Materials Science and Engineering Minor
My team is in charge of the development and integration of the electrical and mechanical components that compose the car's high voltage tractive system. Outside the team, I'm really passionate about photography, both digital and analog, and I try to go out shooting every weekend. Career-wise, space is one of my greatest areas of interest, specifically in solar system exploration technology like drills, sampling systems, and scientific instruments.
Kayla Keriazes | Chassis Team Co-Lead | Class of 2021
Mechanical Engineering Major
As a Co-Chassis Lead, I am responsible for overseeing all of the chassis subteams with a focus on the monocoque, since I was a monocoque subteam lead last year. In addition, I am the point person for anything related to purchasing. Outside of the team, I am currently trying to start a tutoring business, specifically for physics and calculus. Professionally, I would like to work in the renewable energy field or for an automotive company that is pursuing electrification.
Sarah Richter | Chassis Team Co-Lead | Class of 2021
Mechanical Engineering Major
My job as a Chassis co-lead, as well as the Suspension subteam lead, is to ensure that our chassis is as optimized as possible through the design and tuning of the suspension system, as well as leading efforts to keep the chassis subteams and their components working together cohesively. In my free time, I play the guitar and enjoy camping and rock climbing. Professionally, I am interested in mechanical design as well as dynamics and control systems.
Nicole Lin | Electrical Team Lead | Class of 2020
Electrical and Computer Engineering Major, Computer Science Minor
My primary responsibility is to ensure that the electrical team delivers a well-tested and functional low voltage electrical system by tackling system-level design and through organizational and teaching efforts. In my free time, I love to be outside hiking, hammocking, camping, and climbing. Career-wise, I look forward to growing my skills as an electrical engineer, and I hope to contribute to sustainability efforts by working on impactful projects in the green tech space.
Caitlin Pao | Business Team Lead | Class of 2021
Operations Research and Info. Engineering Major, Business Minor
I spearhead sponsorship and alumni network development and team professionalism amidst admin work, implementing Agile practices to optimize team workflow. I also do research with the ORIE department and Cayuga Medical Center on improving patient scheduling. My career interests are in the fields of management consulting as well as systems optimization.
This part sponsorship will help us charge the car, and we need approximately 600 of these to run our electric motor!
Nuts and Bolts are easily perceived to be a dime a dozen, however these have custom specifications for different parts of the car, and a part sponsorship of $10 can go a long way on us obtaining high quality pieces that keep our car together.
This part sponsorship of our circuit boards enable our all electric racecar to process the vital commands it needs to function the motor as well as navigate the data storage from our drives.
Almost 90% of the parts on the car are machined in house in our lab! A part sponsorship of $50 would provide for a decent unit of stock for smaller parts that are machined by hand, such as the clevises, that enable the attachment of external parts to the chassis.
The carbon fiber on our car is perhaps the most expensive material item that goes into the custom fabrication of our racecars. We need to buy new rolls every year because they have an expiration date, and numerous layers are required for the safety and complete creation of the monocoque each year. Your part donation of $500 dollars allows us to buy the amounts we need to compete and win!
The electric accumulator of our vehicle is what allows us to drive the car and a vital part that we outsource simply because we do not have the air tight facilities needed to create a top performing system. Without this system, we don't move! Donating this part amount allows for team flexibility in design where we would be able to afford a new motor for each iterative racecar, prioritizing peak performance over just meeting the bare expectations.
A full set of magnesium rims provides our racecar with a lightweight drivetrain system that is directly proportional to the speed and maneuverability of our racecar!