Nestled in the B wing of the Engineering and Technology building is a door with the EcoCAR logo across it. I was nervous to walk in, not sure what to expect inside. Will it lead me to a garage with a car roaring to life inside? Will it be packed with intelligent students wielding together something I’ll never understand?
Mostly everyone at Cal State LA has heard about EcoCAR, though they might not be sure exactly what it is. Some students think it’s the hydrogen station on campus, while others know it’s a competition that travels the country. I was on the middle ground, knowing enough to know there was a green car involved, but not enough to actually understand the whole process. Not to mention as a student in the College of Arts & Letters, I rarely meet Engineering students, which is a huge bummer .So when the opportunity came up to interview EcoCAR 3 Mechanical Lead Diana Santos, I jumped at the opportunity.
When I finally walked in, I found myself in a carpeted lab with PC screens everywhere. Only a few people were in the room, making it easy to spot a smiley Diana working on a laptop in the corner. As soon as I sat down next to her, the conversation started to flow smoothly and Diana began to describe her EcoCAR involvement with ease.
HC: What got you interested in your major [Mechanical Engineering]?
Diana: I started out in high school in a program for Biomedical Engineering. They don’t have that here but that’s where I thought I was going to go, leaning towards the mechanical side of Mechanical Engineering. But I actually ended up joining a bunch of the automotive groups, because that’s kind of what we focus at here at Cal State LA. For engineering we either focus on aerospace or automotive. So I just did automotive!
HC: What’s your favorite part about it?
Diana: My favorite part about it is definitely the innovation. You get to know a lot about what’s going on now as far as cars and what new green car is out.
HC: Can you tell me about EcoCAR?
Diana: EcoCAR is a 4-year competition program. It’s an Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition event. So Year One we design and research what we want to do with the car. Year Two we get the car and start working on it. By Year Four we have to have a 100% consumer ready vehicle. Each year we go to a competition and tell them “this is my progress so far, this is what I’ve done” and they grade you. A certain year you have to have it like 40% ready and 99% that you claimed to do for that year.
HC: That’s hardcore! So how long have you been on EcoCAR? What’s your position?
Diana: So for EcoCAR3 this is Year One, so we just started in the summer. I am the Mechanical Lead so I’m in charge of the Mechanical team. We do all kinds of deliverables, which would be learning how to use computer design software and analysis of structures. For example, if it’s going to be a hybrid, where are we going to put the batteries? The electrical team will figure out what batteries they want to do and how we’re going to wire them and we figure out where are we going to put them.
HC: How many teams are there?
Diana: There are a lot of teams! Mechanical, Electrical, Controls, Systems, Modeling and Simulation, Communication, Business, Administration, Innovation…
HC: So there are a lot of people involved in EcoCAR! And you’re a team leader for one of them!
Diana: Yes! I believe we got an email today saying we have 80 team members. But on my team there are about 30 members. I don’t do this by myself; I have two other leads in charge with me on the mechanical team.
HC: How many teams compete in EcoCAR?
Diana: There are 16 teams across North America competing. We’re the only school in California involved!
HC: Are there a lot of girls involved in EcoCAR?
Diana: Yeah, there is! Especially since we have a lot of different majors involved in EcoCAR, like in Communications and Administration. When I went to the Fall Workshop two weeks ago, I saw there were a lot of girls from the other Engineering schools.
HC: Are you involved in any other clubs on campus?
Diana: Not right now. I used to do SAE Supermileage. I was captain for that team. That was fun, I did it for two years.
HC: Is it hard to balance EcoCAR and school?
Diana: Yeah, especially since I’m trying to crunch in before the semester switch. It’s usually a five-year program and I’m doing a double major in Engineering with the option in Manufacturing so I’m trying to squeeze in as many classes as I can. It’s kind of similar to Mechanical but there are other classes I have to take, like management.
HC: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Diana: I honestly don’t know. I’m thinking a couple of years from now I want to finish my bachelor’s and then go and do an MBA. I’ve been doing a lot of project management as far as EcoCAR and Supermileage so I’m thinking maybe get an MBA and hopefully work somewhere!
HC: What are some things you can’t live without?
Diana: Uhm..Macchiato! I just like to try different flavors that they have. Last time I had the Spain Macchiato and then I’ve had the Peppermint.
HC: If there’s one place anywhere that you could go to, where would you go?
Diana: I think I’d like to go to Europe! I’d like to visit Spain.
HC: Then you can have a real Spanish Macchiato!
Diana: Yes!