UA Engineering Students Compete in SAE Baja Race

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A team of engineering students from The University of Alabama will compete in the SAE Baja competition in Cullman, April 14-17.

The team must design and build an off-road vehicle that will be tested in a series of challenges on rough terrain and water.These challenges are designed to gauge the vehicle’s land and water maneuverability, suspension, traction and endurance. If the vehicle survives the challenges, the team will race.

Scoring will be based on the team’s design and the vehicle’s performance in the various challenges and the race. UA’s team will be competing against nearly 100 teams from around the country.

The team includes:

• Austin Bowling, a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Tuscaloosa
• Sterlin Cochran, a senior mechanical engineering major from Millry
• Ryne Hill, a freshman engineering major from Lawrenceville, Ga.
• Brett Pennington, a senior mechanical engineering major from Columbus, Miss.
• Jerry Stastka, a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Daphne
• Brian Whitehead, a senior mechanical engineering major from Millbrook

“Seeing how our car does against teams from all over the country is really rewarding. It gives you a sense of how your engineering department stacks up against others,” said Sterlin Cochran, team captain. “I, personally, want to represent the University well.”

Baja SAE consists of three regional competitions that simulate real-world engineering design projects and their related challenges.The competition’s purpose is to provide student members with an opportunity to take on planning and manufacturing tasks similar to what they will face later in their careers.

In 1837, The University of Alabama became one of the first five universities in the nation to offer engineering classes.Today, UA’s fully accredited College of Engineering has more than 2,700 students and more than 100 faculty. In the last eight years, students in the College have been named USA Today All-USA College Academic Team members, Goldwater scholars, Hollings scholars and Portz scholars.