Two graduate students earned three awards in EcoCar Mobility Challenge
December 22, 2021
Amine Taoudi and Jonah Gandy, two graduate students in Mississippi State University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, were selected as three awards in EcoCar Mobility Challenge 2021.
Amine Taoudi, ECE Ph.D student advised by Drs. Chaomin Luo and Randy Follet was granted First Place for the Mathworks Model Based Design Award. Amine Taoudi was also awarded runner-up in the Excellence in Leadership Award.
Jonah Gandy, ECE MS student, is the graduate team lead for the CAVs swim lane. As a graduate team lead, his team was selected First Place for Best CAV System Testing Award in EcoCar Mobility Challenge.
The Mississippi State University (MSU) EcoCAR team has won several awards in the third year of the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge. In the Connected and Automated Vehicle systems (CAVs) Testing category, the team was selected First Place for Best CAV System Testing Award (best perception and adaptive cruise control system testing). The MSU EcoCAR CAV successfully tested a forward-facing radar/camera perception system for adaptive cruise control (ACC) using a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer. As the team moves forward into the fourth year of the competition, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) capability will be integrated into the vehicle for enhanced autonomous features.
The lead faculty adviser for the MSU EcoCAR team is Dr. Randy Follet. The CAVs team is advised by Dr. Chaomin Luo. The propulsion system integration team is advised by Dr. Seungdeog Choi.
The EcoCAR Mobility Challenge is the latest U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition (AVTC) series. As North America’s premier collegiate automotive engineering competition, this AVTC is challenging 11 North American universities to apply advanced propulsion systems and SAE Level 2 autonomy, combined with V2X connectivity, to improve the energy consumption of a 2019 Chevrolet Blazer — without compromising the vehicle’s emissions, safety, drivability or utility. Sponsored by DOE, General Motors and MathWorks, and managed by Argonne National Laboratory, this AVTC is the heart of American automotive ingenuity and innovation and is the ultimate training ground for minting future technological leaders in the automotive industry.
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Mississippi State University consists of 27 faculty members (including 6 endowed professors), 7 professional staff, and over 700 undergraduate and graduate students with approximately 100 being at the Ph.D. level. With research expenditure of the department in excess of $13M, the department houses the largest High Voltage Laboratory among North American universities. For more detailed information on the department, please visit our website www.ece.msstate.edu.