Undergraduates Anny Hiu Yan Mok, Mick Hon Ming Tse, both Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE), and Eddie Wing Tai Yeung, Electronic and Computer Engineering (ECE), won the champion in the Pit Crew Challenge – Intercollegiate Speed Engine Assembly and Disassembly Competition in the Hong Kong Classic 2015, which was held at the Central Harbourfront Event Space on 10-11 October 2015. The students are members of the HKUST Solar Car Team, which has been formed since June 2015 through the Experiential Learning – Solar Car Design Competition (MECH4000B) course offered by the MAE Department. The competition attracted 16 student teams from CUHK, HKU, HKUST and PolyU. It requires students to assemble and disassemble a motorcycle engine which operates properly in a given time limit and demands highly on speed, accuracy and team cooperation.

“There are few opportunities for us to get our hands dirty with oily engines. It is lucky that this competition offers us the opportunity to have a real taste in assembling and disassembling the motorcycle engine in our final year. Teamwork is a key element of our success in the competition. All teams were highly competitive and skillful. The perfect coordination among our team enabled us to perform slightly faster and led to the success,” said Mick.

The HKUST Solar Car Team is made up of two sub-teams, namely Sundial and Sunstrider, and consists of 25 students in total from various engineering disciplines, including Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electronic and Computer Engineering, and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. The team is supervised by Profs Christopher Chao and Robin Ma of MAE and Prof Tim Woo of ECE. The team has been actively participating in different kinds of competitions, including this Pit Crew Challenge and the “New Energy New Generation” Solar Car Competition, which is organized by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department and the Environment Bureau of HKSAR Government and will be held at the Hong Kong Science Park in January 2016.

by Mick Tse (MECH, Year 4), HKUST Solar Car Team member