Penn Electric Racing unveils new REV7 race car despite pandemic setbacks
During the pandemic, Penn Electric Racing virtually designed the REV7, an almost entirely new design from REV6. The team is slated to bring the REV7 to this year’s FSAE Michigan competition in May.
Roughly two years ago to this date, Penn’s campus physically shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the team was sent home before they were able to finish building their previous REV6 model. They competed in three events for FSAE’s Virtual Competition in May and June of 2020, and then worked completely virtual on REV7’s design for the academic year following.
So many of their members ended up graduating during the work-from-home period that the team spent that time essentially designing a brand new car.
“We decided that it was best for team sustainability to redesign the car in order to ensure design ownership,” says Leslie Lytle, the team’s accumulator and operations lead. “The pandemic gave us an unusually long time to design the new car, which really allowed us to fully understand every part.”
Key changes to the design include the switch from REV6’s four-wheel drive to REV7’s two-wheel drive, and the implementation of the team’s first pullrod suspension system. They also made the critical decision to change this year’s design to a rear wheel drive “to ensure that current team members designed every system on REV7 and had a full understanding of how they work,” says Lytle.
In Senegal, the ambitious Dakar Greenbelt project seeks to create an extensive network of ecological infrastructure in and around the city to sustainably address environmental concerns and enhance urban life. With support from David Gouverneur and Ellen Neises, Ph.D. candidate Rob Levinthal in the Weitzman School of Design led two courses that included a field trip to Dakar, that culminated in students presenting their visions for parts of the Greenbelt.
From a desert to an oasis: Penn engages in ambitious greening effort in the Sahel
Students from the Weitzman School of Design journeyed to Senegal to help with a massive ecological and infrastructural greening effort as part of their coursework. The Dakar Greenbelt aims to combat desertification and promote sustainable urban growth.
As part of an undergraduate course, Penn faculty and students curated an Arthur Ross Gallery exhibition of works from the Neumann family’s extensive collection of modern and contemporary art.
The University’s nexus for technology transfer supports researchers in their innovative efforts, from CAR T to mRNA advancements that have dramatically reshaped the world.
