Spotlight: Dan McDonough

I am a senior at Drexel University. I am graduating from the BS/MS program in June 2003 with a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering, and a Master's degree in Mechanical Engineering. I have completed two co-op cycles, and found them both to be extremely valuable experiences.

I originally came to Drexel because of a relative who was in engineering. I visited the campus, and was attracted by the unique programs. At first I was uncertain about the five year program. Five years seemed like a long time. However, after learning about the co-op cycles and the BS/MS program, I decided that Drexel would be a good place for me. Five years later, with 12 months of work experience, and both a BS and an MS degree, I know that I made the right choice.

Another great experience for me is the Formula SAE team. This experience has given me the opportunity to manage a large scale engineering project, as well as design, build, and race high performance vehicles. I learned a lot about teamwork, organizing a volunteer organization, and the design and manufacture of complicated engineering systems. This project has been a great challenge to me, but also a great way to ready myself for the working world.

Spotlight: Formula SAE

Formula SAE is a high performance design competition. Students are challenged to build an open-wheeled, open cockpit formula car, powered by a four-cycle piston engine displacing up to 610cc. The cars must meet safety and design regulations that assure fair competition and safety. In addition, the cars must be designed so that they can be manufactured at a rate of four per day for an unspecified number of days. The car to be built is a proposed prototype with a limit of $25,000 to be spent per production car.

There are approximately 150 colleges and universities competing in the Formula SAE Design Competition from all over the world. These include many domestic universities, but also countries such as Japan, Australia and Great Britain. Formula SAE is now a global competition. Drexel University has been involved in Formula SAE competition since 1989 and has continued to be an innovator among the top schools involved.

The Drexel University Formula SAE Team includes approximately 30 students of all engineering disciplines and grade levels. Support for the project comes from the fundraising efforts of the team and generous donations from Drexel University, and various other sponsors. The project allows the students to apply their classroom knowledge of design and manufacture to real-world applications. It teaches principles in cost analysis, project management and fundraising in a unique hands-on setting. This gives students an experience far beyond what would normally be learned in the classroom. Design and construction of the racecar also provides students the opportunity to learn from each other, since all members of the team work in various groups, such as chassis, suspension, drive train, engine and aerodynamics.