SAE International seeks volunteers for Formula SAE competition in Lincoln

SAE International is seeking volunteers for its 2012 Formula SAE Lincoln competition, to be held June 20-23 at the Lincoln Airpark in Lincoln, Neb.

SAE International announced in February the decision to relocate its Formula SAE competition from Fontana, California to Lincoln, Neb. in 2012; with this move, new volunteers will be needed to support the event for more than 1,000 participants from 80 registered teams.

The decision to change venue was made in part because the Lincoln Airpark offers excellent space and facility features providing better team support and accommodation for future growth. 80 teams are expected to register for the event; and approximately 1,200 students will be onsite.

SAE International is seeking approximately 250 local volunteers from engineering/automotive industries, motorsport enthusiasts and local business and academia. Time commitments require one-to-four days; those volunteering will have fun in addition to supporting a worthwhile educational experience for future engineers.

In recent conversation with the University of Nebraska’s (UNL) newly-formed Formula SAE team when asking why they picked now to start a team, team captain TiLong K Nguyen said, “One of the most important reasons Formula was started here at UNL was to create a student organization that simulates real world situations. Meeting deadlines, working with other engineers and being able to see the teams creation at work and being able to show your work to the rest of the world by competing with other schools.”

Nguyen, a student in the UNL Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, leads a team of engineers from a variety of disciplines, as well as non-engineers, in creating Nebraska's entry. Learn more about their work at http://go.unl.edu/formulasae or http://huskermotorsports.com.

Formula SAE is a global educational motorsport competition organized by SAE International. Backed by industry and academia, the competition aims to provide real-world experience to young engineers bringing the gap as they enter the workforce.

Universities from across the globe accept the challenge to conceive, design, fabricate and compete with small formula-style race cars. The cars are built with a team effort over a period of eight to twelve months before reaching competitions where students are judged on knowledge and vehicle judged on performance.

To volunteer or obtain more information please contact Kaley Zundel directly at kzundel@sae.orgor 724-772-8533. Learn more online at http://students.sae.org/competitions/formulaseries/west/.

SAE International is a worldwide association of more than 128,000 engineers and related technical experts in the aerospace, automotive and commercial-vehicle industries. SAE International’s core competencies are life-long learning and consensus standards development. SAE International’s charitable arm is the SAE Foundation which supports many programs including A World in Motion and the Collegiate Design Series. SAE International’s Collegiate Design Series goes beyond textbook theory by designing, building and testing the performance of a real vehicle. Competitions include: Aero Design, Clean Snowmobile Challenge, Formula SAE, Baja SAE and Supermileage.