University for Motorsports Engineering Degree?

[MarkL]

Does anybody know where a prospective engineering student would be able to obtain a degree in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration on a Motorsports (racin') oriented curriculum? Preferably not something NASCAR oriented (since the technology in NASCAR is ..."limited")?

My nephew will be attending a major university majoring in Mechanical Engineering starting in the fall, and he really wants to study high performance/racing type classes, so he can get a job in racing.

[gsbaker]

Probably the best program in the world--mixing engine, chassis etc.--is in England. Name starts with a "C" I believe. Search the forum at AtlasF1.com.

One of the Carolina schools has a program that is big in chassis and aero for stock cars.

Once your nephew already has a degree, he can get a masters in engine design at the University of Central Florida.

http://news2.ucf.edu/FY1999-00/000119.html

BTW, this is not a good career path. The world is full of graduate engineers who swept the floor in race shops hoping to get on the team in a real engineering capacity. One in a thousand makes it. I've been told that some of the pit crew in F1 are graduate engineers.

Search the AtlasF1.com forums for this subject. It has come up before. Concentrate on The Technical Forum. There are some extremely sharp people there. Just avoid the 18 page argument on Shift Strategy Comparison.

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Gregg Baker, P.E.
Isaac, LLC
http://www.isaacdirect.com

[MarkL]

Thanks so far.

Gregg, I know it's not a great career path, but he's 18, and he's not MY son! My brother is not into racing, and I didn't even know until recently that my nephew even liked racing, but they live 2500 miles away! Personally, I think it's a great hobby, and if you can make it into a career, GREAT!! But don't count on it.

I remember when Honda was running the turbo engines with McLaren in the 80s, they described the Degreed Engineers working on their engines as "technicians".

I think that by the time he has 2 or 3 years done in an engineering curriculum, he'll reassess the situation. For now, he's open to suggestions.

By the way, my brother (PhD in EE) has a friend who is pretty high up at a Major Automaker, so that might help!

[pgipson]

this link
http://www.powermasters.com/motorsports_ed...ation_news.html

will take you to some info.

Also, schools that partiicpate in the Formula SAE program would be good. Internships (or maybe even coop programs) with race teams might be available.

One of my students at our drivers school last year was an graduating with an ME from AZ State and was looking at advanced education in the UK as an entry point into an F1 team.

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Spec RX7 #11
Scottsdale AZ

[MarkL]

One of my students at our drivers school last year was an graduating with an ME from AZ State and was looking at advanced education in the UK as an entry point into an F1 team.

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Spec RX7 #11
Scottsdale AZ

--pgipson
********************************************

What a coincidence, my nephew lives in Scottsdale, post me here to give me more information on how your drivers school student was trying to go about this.

Thanks for all the help!

[Geo]

My sister's alma mater, Clemson University (SC) has a motorsports program. Closely connected with NASCAR of course. I think this is the university Gregg was referring to.


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George Roffe
Houston, TX
84 944 ITS car under construction
92 ITS Sentra SE-R occasionally borrowed
http://www.nissport.com

[gsbaker]

Originally posted by Geo:
My sister's alma mater, Clemson University (SC) has a motorsports program. Closely connected with NASCAR of course. I think this is the university Gregg was referring to.

Bingo! Well, 99% bingo; I'm confident that's it.

pgipson offered a great link. I didn't know there were that many programs.

I couldn't find the British university, but I did find a thread titled "How come I can't get a job in motorsport?" started by a graduate ME who has been trying for three years. Good reading for your nephew.

http://forums.atlasf1.com/showthread.php?s...y=&pagenumber=1

I wouldn't want to discourage youthful enthusiasm, but I suggest your nephew stick with general programs (like ME) at the undergraduate level rather than some specialized sub topic. The career opportunitites are better and it still qualifies him to move into motorsports.

I would rather my joint implant be designed by a structural engineer who learned bone mechanics on the job than by a "biomedical" engineer who studied respirators and heart monitors.

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Gregg Baker, P.E.
Isaac, LLC
http://www.isaacdirect.com


[This message has been edited by gsbaker (edited February 04, 2005).]

[planet6racing]

Shameless plug for my Alma Mater coming...

Winona State University has an excellent undergrad program in Composite Materials Engineering. Since many of the newer cars are going to these exotic materials, it may be the key that makes him unique from the others that apply!

http://www.winona.edu



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Bill
Planet 6 Racing
bill (at) planet6racing (dot) com

[Blix]

I believe that Georgia Tech has a very highly rated Motorsports engineering program. If his desire is to end up in F1, he should go to europe, however, if he is interested in NASCAR, then an american univeristy would probably be suitable.

[pgipson]

MarkL

The student (if I can call him that) was a national level kart racer with several championships under his belt. His dad was a racer and helped promote the F1 when it ran in Phoenix 15 years ago. His goal was to get onto an open wheel team. I don't know what he is doing now, he graduated in December and I haven't seen him at the track.

But, if your nephew is going to ASU or UofA, he should consider getting involved with us in the AZ Region. As you know it's a good place to meet people that have great contacts. For example, one of our local guys has a son that is an engineer for Rahal-Letterman. And any experience on a race car is a start. Who knows, he might change his mind. Better to find out early.

[MarkL]

pgipson,

Thank you for your help.

My nephew has declared his intent to attend ASU in the fall. I have given him the pointers that were relayed to me here on this board, and my brother has said "Let's make this happen." Since my nephew does as he is told in cases like this, I believe he will take y'all's advice.

Thank you all again for your help in this matter.

Mark Liebetreu

[handfulz28]

I'll throw in a plug for Clemson's graduate program. One of my good friends and former racing partner/co-driver got his undergrad ME at UFlorida [Go Gators!..no shame in my game :-) ] and after a few years of working he got his masters through Clemson's program.
We never talked in detail about the classes, but they're not 100% Nascar. Now he's doing suspension design for all types of cars: drag, Indy, and of course Nascar teams.
And while he's not buying his own G-IV anytime soon, he's making a pretty good living.

Michael

[Roy Dean]

Don't forget Lehigh University!

Some famous alum include Roger Penske, Lee Iacoca and Al (racing legend) and Todd (NASCAR Supertruck engineer) Holbert! We've also graduated Jon Babek (engineer for Petty Racing, featured on Monster Garage a couple of times), Larry Webster (Car and Driver), Don Schroeder (also from Car and Driver, killed in a testing accident). Larry Webster was also on monster garage once.

Penske wasn't an engineer, though. The rest were. Oh, the dude who played "Ralph Malph" on "Happy Days" also went to Lehigh....

[pgipson]

Mark
If you (or your brother/nephew)
e-mail me at

pgipson4atcox.net

I'll give you my contacts and some more info about our race program.

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Spec RX7 #11
Scottsdale AZ

[Bill Miller]

Years ago, a cousin of mine went to GMIT (General Motors Institute of Technology). While I don't know if they have a specific Motorsport track, I would think that they have some focused design/engineering programs.

I assumme it's still around.

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MARRS #25 ITB Rabbit GTI (sold) | MARRS #25 HProd Rabbit
SCCA 279608

[kaioken]

Saginaw Vally State University is going to be the frist university to have an in house INDY racing team.

http://www.svsu.edu/set/template.cfm?doc_id=414

http://www.svsu.edu/mecheng/index.html

http://www.svsu.edu

[backformore]

Another thing to consider with Clemson, they are very closely tied with BMW and Michelin, both in Upstate SC. Greenville (home of Michelin) is currently building a brand new, high tech, automotive research and testing facility that is affiliated with Clemson, Michelin, and BMW. It is bound to provide some great contacts and opportunities if you attend Clemson.

I'm a Georgia Tech grad, so if they have a program I'd had to say it is excellent as well.

[timrogers]

I would really take a look at a school with a strong Formula SAE program. You can look at the past 4 years of results here: http://students.sae.org/competitions/formu...ulaseries/fsae/
I personally know of 5 program graduates who went on to work for Cosworth, Panoz (both the road cars and the ALMS race team) and for Jim Downing's ALMS team. Go to any pro race and ask a crew guy how many of his team mates were on SAE teams and you'll find out how valuable that training can be.

Tim Rogers
Georgia Tech FSAE '87 & '88