A chemical-powered car designed and built by a team of engineering students at the University of New Haven took third place in the Northeast region of the Chem-E-Car Competition and head to the national tournament later this year.
The UNH car, Pandora’s Charger, finished behind two cars operated by Cornell University at the regional event held March 7 at the University of Connecticut.
Parker Mathis, a junior from Ridgefield is a member of the six member team that also includes students from New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Maine.
The Chem-E-Car competition requires teams to construct a self-propelled, chemically powered vehicle that safely travels a preset distance while carrying a specified cargo. Teams are not told the distance that the car must travel and the specified cargo that the vehicle will carry until an hour before the competition begins.
“We may have a small program in chemical engineering, but our students are having big successes,” said Ronald Harichandran, dean of engineering.
The national event will be held in Atlanta from Nov. 16 to 21.
Arthur Gow, an associate professor of chemistry and chemical engineering in UNH’s Tagliatela College of Engineering, serves as the team’s faculty adviser.