RICHLAND, Wash. – Engineering students from Washington State University Tri-Cities will test two go-carts they designed and built at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9, at the Tri-City Raceway in West Richland. Admission is free to the public. The raceway is along Highway 224/Van Giesen between West Richland and Benton City.
“This is how we can apply the past three or four years of learning about mechanical engineering to a real-world experience,” senior Sarah Sederburg said. “We’ve been working on the go-carts outside of class. This is a competitive event.”
“This gave the students a sense of how an engineering project comes together, from a detailed drawing to fabrication,” said instructor Rick Cameron, who personally financed the materials. He said the project also emphasized safety and how to analyze stress points in the design.
The 20 students broke into two teams. Set-up starts at noon, with the competition beginning at 1 p.m. The two go-carts will compete in several elements, such as a short-distance drag race, endurance race, and obstacle course with various challenges.
The event is co-sponsored by the Sage & Sand Sports Car Club, which assisted with race logistics and insurance.
WSU Tri-Cities is located along the Columbia River in Richland, Wash. WSU Tri-Cities offers 18 bachelor’s, 10 master’s and six doctoral degree programs. Learn more about the most diverse campus in the WSU system at http://www.tricity.wsu.edu.