Los
Angeles Cleantech Incubator
CSULA team to debut its EcoCAR 2 vehicle at the Alt CAR Expo Sept. 28-29
Los Angeles, CA—As
part of the second year of the three-year collegiate EcoCAR 2: Plugging
into the Future competition, the Cal State L.A.’s (CSULA) team has
announced a collaboration with the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI).
EcoCAR 2 is sponsored by General Motors (GM) and the U.S. Department of
Energy (DOE). The competition challenges 15 teams of engineering and
business students in North America to design and build advanced vehicles
that demonstrate cutting-edge automotive technologies. CSULA received
its 2013 Chevrolet Malibu in July, and is now working to reduce the
environmental impact of the already fuel-efficient Malibu through an
integration platform it developed that is designed to not compromise its
performance, safety or consumer acceptability.
“LACI is our first in-kind sponsor, and will be a major component of the
foundation we are building for our project to be successful in this
second year of the competition,” said Abraham Vargas, business manager
for the CSULA EcoCAR 2 team. “Cleantech is in the business of putting
clean technology companies through their paces, and we look forward to
their insight and experience in the field.”
The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator was launched in 2011 through an
initiative started by L.A. Mayor
Antonio Villaraigosa to support
the growth of local clean technology companies.
Cleantech identifies and nurtures local talent, as well as helps new
businesses get to market.
As
mandated in the competition, teams are expected to seek out sponsorship
to support their activities. The team is also responsible for research,
development and design, from implementing the vehicle’s systems, to
buying parts and developing promotional materials.
The L.A. Cleantech Incubator will provide CSULA’s EcoCAR 2 team mentorship,
internships and network access. “We look forward to working with Ian
Harris, director of operations and communications at Cleantech
Incubator,” said Vargas. “Having a set of critical eyes on our work with
the industry experience that Mr. Harris possesses is very important in
this competition.”
The team is committed to participating in upcoming events,
including the
Alt CAR Expo, being held in Santa Monica September
28-29. The event will feature an assembly of the largest collection
of hydrogen, electric, propane, biodiesel, hybrid, ethanol and natural
gas vehicles on the West Coast. The CSULA team will use this event to
debut the vehicle they will be working on for the next two years. It
is the first time the vehicle will be available for public view.
Members of the team will also be on hand to answer questions about the
project and their plans for the implementation of their vehicle systems.
“The CSULA team hopes to maintain their momentum as we move into the
fall quarter and begin implementing out designs into the vehicle,” said
Vargas. “It will be an active quarter.”
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Working for California since 1947: The 175-acre hilltop campus of California State University, Los Angeles is at the heart of a major metropolitan city, just five miles from Los Angeles’ civic and cultural center. More than
16,000 students and 225,000 alumni—with a wide variety of interests, ages and backgrounds—reflect the city’s dynamic mix of populations. Six
Colleges offer nationally recognized science, arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education and humanities programs, among others, led by an award-winning faculty. Cal State L.A. is home to the critically-acclaimed Luckman Jazz Orchestra and to
the Honors College for high-achieving students.
Programs that provide exciting enrichment opportunities to students and community include an NEH-supported humanities center; a NASA-funded center for space research; and a forensic science program, housed in the Hertzberg-Davis Forensic Science Center. www.calstatela.edu
sponsors Cal State L.A.’s EcoCAR 2 team
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