Last year’s car in action. Photo by Bob Phelan.

A team of students from Missouri University of Science and Technology is racing against 120 international collegiate teams in Formula One-style racecars at the upcoming Formula SAE competition in Canada.

The competition, sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers, will be held Thursday, May 23, through Sunday, May 26, in Barrie, Ontario. Missouri S&T’s Formula SAE team will compete and race against teams from Brazil, Canada, England, Germany, Italy, Japan and Australia, in addition to teams from schools from across the United States.

In this competition, a panel of judges will evaluate the engineering, design and cost of the vehicle. The competition then moves to the race track. During the racing portion, the team will be judged on fuel economy, endurance, maneuvering an obstacle course and lateral force.

The team builds a new car for each year’s competition. This year, the team is hoping for more horsepower compared to previous vehicles. The car has Hoosier Racing tires and uses active aerodynamics, which allows for manual changes to the exterior of the car mid-race, making the car more aerodynamic. Earlier this spring, the team tested its vehicle’s aerodynamics in a wind tunnel.

“Once people join the team, they are usually hooked and stay for the rest of their university career,” says team leader Lance Kellner, a junior in mechanical engineering from Cainsville, Mo. “We attract all majors; everybody likes racecars.”

Earlier in May, the team competed in the Formula SAE Michigan event and won second place in the autocross event, where the team completed a one-kilometer lap that demonstrated the car’s driving dynamics and handling qualities.

Dr. Hank Pernicka, an associate professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering at S&T, is the Formula SAE team advisor and Kellner is the spring 2013 team leader.

For more information about the event see the competition website at http://formulanorth.com/.

The following students are part of the Formula SAE team:

Alexander Brinley, a junior in mechanical engineering from Marionville, Mo.

Zachary Brown, a junior in mechanical engineering from Eolia, Mo.

Komal Choong, a senior in mechanical engineering from Kansas City, Mo.

Brad Cook, a senior in engineering management from Springfield, Mo.

Taylor Dieckmann, a junior in mechanical engineering from Odessa, Mo.

Kelly Harrell, a senior in mechanical engineering from Springfield, Mo.

Garrett Ingram, a senior in aerospace engineering from Claremore, Okla.

Jeremiah Johnson, a senior in mechanical engineering from Warrensburg, Mo.

Lance Kellner, a junior in mechanical engineering from Cainsville, Mo.

David Long, a senior in aerospace engineering from Lawrence, Kan.

Derek Martin, a senior in mechanical engineering from Hermann, Mo.

Michael Mason, a sophomore in aerospace engineering from St. Charles, Mo.

Alex Mills, a junior in petroleum engineering from Springfield, Mo.

Adam Morgan, a graduate student in civil engineering from Rolla, Mo.

Clayton Powell, a senior in electrical engineering from Sikeston, Mo.

Juan Remolina Gonzalez, a sophomore in physics from St. Charles, Mo.

Nicholas Reuther, a sophomore in engineering from St. Charles, Mo.

Julien Roskam, a sophomore in mechanical engineering from Kansas City, Mo.

Jack Savage, a junior in electrical engineering from Overland Park, Kan.

Ethan Schmitt, a senior in mechanical engineering from St. Peters, Mo.

Laura Shafer, a senior in mechanical engineering from Lee’s Summit, Mo.

Peter Somers, a sophomore in mechanical engineering from Springfield, Mo.

Ryan Spencer, a sophomore in mechanical engineering from Hillsboro, Mo.

Nathan Szanto, a senior in electrical engineering from Fordland, Mo.

Joe Vehige, a senior in mechanical engineering from St. Charles, Mo.

Timothy Victor, a sophomore in mechanical engineering from Manchester, Mo.

Anna Wallace, a junior in aerospace engineering from Eureka, Mo.

Mark Welty, a senior in mechanical engineering from Florissant, Mo.

William Whitworth, a junior in mechanical engineering from St. Charles, Mo.

Robert Zhang, a senior in mechanical engineering from Cape Girardeau, Mo.