“The team did remarkably well for their first time, and we’re only going up from here,” said Professor Cameron LaMack, the faculty adviser of the team. 

The group competed across six divisions in Portsmouth Park, Virginia. 

“Each division shared the concept, 'How can you turn a maximum of 55 volts into the most effective propulsion system?' The division Quinnipiac students competed in was the budget warriors division, where the system had to be remote controlled, could not cost more than $1,500 and had to carry a 30-lb ballast, or cargo weight," LaMack explained.

The team’s preparation was often and intense, said LaMack. 

“The students and I had weekly advising meetings, but the design, component selection, and fabrication was entirely conducted by them, with use of the Quinnipiac University Makerspace and help from machinists Dennis Hanlon and Chad Hanebrink," he said.

Students were eager to compete and were friends ahead of time, said LaMack.

“They found the competition on their own around the same time that the competition itself reached out to us," he said. “The students that competed found the competition and came to us saying, 'We want to compete.' These students were all friends to begin with, which I think was a factor in their success.”