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October 20, 2006 Vol. 77,
no. 10F
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| ZERO EMISSIONS, TWO FOR IT: ChemE juniors Noah Grant (left) and Arpen Shah are starting an electric car group. RACHEL
SHAFER PHOTO
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Passionate
about zero emissions, Berkeley
undergrads start electric car project
In the recent documentary “Who Killed the Electric
Car?”, filmmakers suggest that G.M.’s EV1 (electric vehicle
1) was sent to an early grave by U.S. auto manufacturers and oil companies,
despite California’s program to mandate sales of electric cars
beginning in 1998. Whatever the reason, electric cars disappeared in
favor of current hybrid technologies.
But after seeing the whodunit movie this fall, ChemE juniors Noah Grant
and Arpen Shah are convinced that electric cars represent the future
of all vehicles, not hybrids. And, as a leading innovator of future
technologies, Berkeley Engineering needs to plug in. Earlier this month,
the two started a group, sponsored by MSE professor Ron Gronsky, to
design and build an electric car.
“
The more we learned about it, the more we wanted to be a part of it,” says
Grant. “We care about the environment, and electric cars get
us off our dependence on oil and get us closer to absolutely zero emissions.
So we wanted to build a car and learn how it works so that down the
road we can be a part of this revolution as engineers.”
The two students emphasize they’re in the very early stages of
organizing a group, but they’ve already put out a call for members. “We’re
looking for people from all backgrounds, from ME to business students,” says
Grant. No experience is necessary, just a strong interest in building
an electric car from the ground up, they say.
Project leaders will focus on designing the car this year, allowing
time to simultaneously raise funds for the purchase of materials. Next
year, they hope to build a working vehicle. Already, CEE, ME and MSE
students have joined. “It’s a cool idea that I’m
pretty passionate about,” says Grant. The group’s first
meeting will be on Tuesday, October 24, at 5:30 p.m. in 348 Hearst
Memorial Mining Building.
To join or for more information, email Noah Grant at noahgrant@berkeley.edu.
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