A team up between Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) over the summer gave students a crash course in real-world engineering - including some of the ups and downs that come with the profession.
Over a period of seven weeks, two teams comprised of mechanical engineering students from both institutions were tasked with creating electric vehicles on a tight budget. The open-ended project challenged these students to make decisions about everything from materials to fabrication techniques, culminating in a presentation to faculty during a showcase at the end of July.
Team Khrysos
Named for the Greek god of gold, team Khrysos chose to build the frame for their three-wheeled vehicle from aluminum to reduce its weight, said Rebecca Gracia.
In addition to the fabrication experience they acquired as they drilled holes and fastened the chassis pieces together, the teammates also learned the importance of quick trouble-shooting.
“After 10 minutes of driving our car, we noticed that the wheels were bending at 45-degree angles. The brackets, which were made of steel, looked like pieces of taffy,” Gracia said.
The team also hit a snag in integrating so many different components, such as the motor driver and Arduino.
“This project involved so many different subsystems,” said teammate Lilian Magermans. “I had to work with components that I knew nothing about. But as a team, we all trusted each other, so we played off each other’s strengths.”
Team Drake Brum
Team Drake Brum (a spoonerism of the phrase “brake drum”) took a different strategic approach, building one version of their vehicle as fast as possible, and then creating a second version to optimize any ineffective or inefficient components.
They improved the strength of their three-wheeled chassis between versions, and after testing they chose a simpler and more effective electrical system.
The roadblocks both teams overcame showcased the challenges engineers face, said Ivraj Seerha."People highly underestimate the emotional demands on an engineer. Being able to fight for, but then drop an idea that you just came up with, without attaching any ego to it, is very difficult to do,” he said. “The best engineers are the ones who have the best emotional fortitude.”
Teammate Yankang Yang added, “We learned that the engineering design process involves a lot of failure, and you can either fail, become frustrated, and lose your patience, or fail and work as a team to solve your problems together.”
It was gratifying to see their project driving down the road, Yang said, but equally rewarding were the friendships the students forged as they learned from each other.
A Learning Experience
The aim of this summer program, now in its third year, is to foster cross-cultural collaboration, said Evelyn Hu, Tarr-Coyne professor of applied physics and electrical engineering at Harvard.
“Engineering is truly global. The economy is global and the role of engineers is profound when it comes to shaping and improving the world,” she said. “By providing a way for students to learn more about the world around us, we hope to encourage more opportunities for innovation. We want to build genuine bridges.”
In addition to broadening the students’ cultural horizons, they learned valuable lessons about what it takes to be an engineer - solving problems and collaborating with a team to overcome issues beyond the scope of a single person.
For more information, check out the Harvard SEAS and HKUST websites.