UBC Supermileage
2054-6250 Applied Science Lane V6T 1Z4 Vancouver, BC, Canada

We are having our first info session in half an hour at 7pm! Join us on zoom here: https://zoom.us/j/96843103413

Throwback to the TIME we were named a Best Invention of the Year with our gas prototype vehicle!

Today’s Member Spotlight is one of our electrical leads, Spencer! Spencer is a 5th year Engineering Physics student, and is currently on an internship at Nvidia working on robotics, after a term at Tesla last year. In his free time, he likes doing outdoor activities, playing board games, and working on personal projects. When Spencer was asked why he joined UBC Supermileage, Spencer said: I joined Supermileage to gain practical engineering experience in a field that is very... relevant to the future of the transportation industry. I have been on Supermileage since my first year at UBC, and it has been a great experience which has provided opportunities to learn things that can't be learned in a classroom setting. Spencer’s advice for the Supermileage application and interview: The advice I would give for the Supermileage application and interview process is to show us you are open and willing to learn! To keep updated, don’t forget to follow our facebook event page - link in bio! Stay tuned for our Q&A session in our instagram story this Sunday!

Today’s Member Spotlight is our previous captain, Kevin Ta! Kevin graduated from UBC Mechanical Engineering, specializing in mechatronics, and will be attending ETH Zurich in Switzerland this fall for a Master of Science in Robotics, Systems, and Controls. Kevin joined UBC Supermileage in 2015, serving as Vehicle Mechanics Lead, Safety Officer, and eventually Team Captain from 2019-2020. Kevin is a huge board games nerd and loves bouldering! When Kevin was asked why he joi...ned UBC Supermileage, Kevin said: I joined UBC Supermileage because I wanted to gain hands-on experience you can’t get in the classroom and for the unique focus on building towards efficiency above all else. As someone who’s devoted thousands of hours into their design team, I’ve gone through highs and lows on the team; the euphoric competition high just kept me coming back for more. Kevin’s advice for the Supermileage application and interview: Student teams are a commitment and an investment on both sides, and showcasing that you can devote yourself to the pursuit of efficiency is how you can differentiate yourself from everyone else. If you want to follow in Kevin’s footsteps and learn more about Supermileage recruitment, sign up for updates using the link in our bio!

UBC Supermileage's prototype vehicle can travel 5061 km (3145 mi) with just 1 gallon of gas. That's enough for a road trip from Vancouver to New York with fuel to spare! If you're interested in joining a design team that pushes the boundaries of efficiency, join our recruitment mailing list for updates here: https://tinyurl.com/supermileagerecruitment

In our goal of re-imagining more efficient transportation, our sole Diamond Sponsor, the Daniel Family Foundation, has provided us unparalleled support. Empowering our students with the confidence to design and fabricate ultra-efficient vehicles, the Daniel Family Foundation has given budding engineers the opportunity to work with real-world design projects. We have been able to expand our scope with redeveloping our Urban Concept, Zeus, into an EV over the past two years and pushed our Prototype back into the competitive spotlight at the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas and SAE Supermileage Competition. We'll be hard at work this summer looking at new ways to innovate and reduce our energy consumption, so stay tuned for exciting updates. And from all our members, thank you again to the Daniel Family Foundation for their generous support!

I hope everyone has been keeping safe and healthy the last few week. It's been a unique opportunity to reflect and be grateful for the things we take for granted and to connect with those we may not have had time for throughout the year. The UBC Supermileage team has reduced our work due to the ongoing pandemic, but we plan to pick up design again come May as our students finish their exams. In the meantime, we'd like to take the opportunity to be outwardly grateful to one of... our sponsors. The Department of Mechanical Engineering is the sponsoring department for the UBC Supermileage Team and their continued support has allowed our team to continue to grow and nurture students. From giving us our home in Rusty Hut to helping out with our finances, we are extremely grateful to have their support. All of what we build and design wouldn't be possible otherwise. With over a third of our students being in the department, the Department of Mechanical Engineering is a wonderful place to call home! UBC Mechanical Engineering

A few weeks back, we had the opportunity to test our Prototype Class vehicle, Mark XIV, at the BCIT Aerospace Technology Campus in their apron compound. The chance to see our vehicles running and moving in a more open space showed us that our new braking systems worked well and gave our new drivers crucial experience in the car. Some incredible work by one electrical division member allowed to us pull real-time information off our ECU, giving our powertrain team a better understanding of how well our newly rebuilt engine is performing! Huge thanks again to the British Columbia Institute of Technology for giving us the opportunity to test our vehicles! @ BCIT Aerospace Campus

Last Friday, I received devastating news that the Shell Eco-Marathon Americas was cancelled due to growing concerns over COVID-19. The team has worked incredibly hard over the past year to get our vehicles ready for this celebration of innovation and engineering ingenuity. It’s a tough pill to swallow. But ultimately, the risks that are emerging day-over-day make me believe that this choice was the correct one. Graduating this year, there’s a serious disappointment over what... should have been my last competition, but I’m proud of the design and development progress we’ve made this past year. I firmly believe that this team will only become stronger with its young core of members. This team will grow and continue to push the boundaries of efficiency. They’ll continue to #makethefuture and be back to challenge the #shellecomarathon next year, will all the other teams across the Americas. As always, the pursuit continues! Kevin Ta 2019-2020 Captain

One of the big projects this year for our powertrain division was the redesign of the conrod of our modified Briggs & Stratton 206 engine. Careful calculation work was done to ensure the appropriate fatigue life for the part while ensuring there was no interference in the geometry through the engine's four strokes. Lighter with modified geometry, this part will help us achieve new fuel efficiency milestones! #shellecomarathon #makethefuture @ University of British Columbia

We had an incredible time yesterday meeting everyone yesterday at our unveiling event! Whether it was learning about our Prototype (Mark XIV) or our Urban Concept (Zeus) or about how you can support us in general, we had a great time engaging on how students can #makethefuture ! Hope you all enjoyed the free cookie!