Osprey Racing prepares for international Formula SAE competition
The University of North Florida’s Osprey Racing student club will compete in the international Formula SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) Collegiate Design Series competition at the Michigan International Speedway from May 18 to May 23.
The 16 students on the team, a mix of engineering and business majors, worked all year on designing and building the new race car, which is the 10th rendition of the Osprey Racing vehicle created for the SAE competition and includes a newly designed frame.
The four-day competition in Michigan hosts 120 teams from across the globe, with each team competing in three static and four dynamic events. The static events include a business presentation, engineering design evaluation and a budget cost analysis. The dynamic events include acceleration, skidpad, autocross, and endurance/fuel economy testing.
The Osprey Racing team is led by team captain Nathan Stratton, mechanical engineering student, and faculty advisor Dr. John Nuszkowski, engineering professor.
The Osprey Racing club plays a significant role at UNF as a way for engineering and business students to work together and apply what they learn in the classroom.
Last year, the team had their best performance to date and placed 30th in the nation and the former team caption Nathan Velez currently has an internship at Tesla in California, being recruited directly from the SAE competition.