By Abby Rathburn | Staff Writer

Baylor’s Society of Automotive Engineers will compete in a five day-long competition in Oregon with teams from all across the country May 7 through May 12. Throughout the year, the organization has worked to design and build a car from scratch.

Castle Rock, Colo., senior and SAE President Caden Eagle said the team is working to improve their design from last year.

“Acceleration was our struggle this last season,” Eagle said. “So that’s why everything is getting custom made on the power train.”

Custom products, however, required a significant time investment. Eagle said he has spent about 20 hours a week working on this year’s car.

“I’d say a lot of people are looking at the end of the 20 ring,” Eagle said. “There’s thousands of hours in this car just because it’s a lot of design.”

While Eagle tries to work with the availability of the member’s schedules, he said that this is one of the most intense clubs on campus, as they are in the garage almost daily. “Garage days” are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 4 to 8 p.m.

Eagle said the competition stems from the Baja Program, which began in the 1970s in South Carolina. Eagle said the original competition involved competitors converting F-150s into dune buggies and taking them on a 1000-mile trek from San Diego to Baja, California.

According to SAE International, SAE works to support the life-long learning process of engineering by connecting with professionals in the field. Through this, Baylor students are immersed into the engineering field before ever joining the workforce.

“We’re doing stuff that seniors do, and we’re giving it to sophomores,” Eagle said.

Upon arrival, they will test Baylor’s car for suspension durability and acceleration — a process that will occur over the first two days of the competition. After all of the testing, the fun really begins.

“It is very rewarding to work on this all year, and it doesn’t even become a car until a few weeks before we leave, and to actually see it race, it’s really exciting,” Eagle said.

Club member and Sarasota, Calif., senior Patrick McCarthy echoed this sentiment, stating that competition and the hotel stays with friends have been some of their most memorable and meaningful experiences as a part of the club.

“I needed somewhere that I could be very hands-on, a competitive club for urban engineering, and that’s exactly what this was,” McCarthy said.

Looking to the future, Eagle hopes to increase membership in order to strengthen the structure and overall organization of the club.

“Hopefully we get more members that way we can split the design lead and the administrative role,” Eagle said. “That way, people can focus on their own niche.”