Page 14 - ME News Spring 2022

STUDENT GROUP SPOTLIGHT
Gopher Motorsports
The Gopher Motorsports team is working on developing their 2022
car, the Go4-22c. This car represents a massive milestone for the team as it is the first car in the team’s history that will have a hybrid chassis. The front half is a composites sandwich structure (e.g. monocoque) while the rear subframe will remain a steel-tube space frame. There are incredibly strict requirements the team had to follow for this design and now the focus is overcoming manufacturing challenges that they have never faced before. The G04-22c has a redesigned aerodynamics package, engine oiling, intake, and exhaust systems, as well as a brand new data acquisition system that will allow the team to take in nearly 200 channels of data at any time.
Gopher Motorsports students make a mold and lay-up a lightweight composite chassis.
The Go4-22c will compete at FSAE Michigan in May. This occurs
the week after finals and will be held at the Michigan International Speedway. They also hope to bring the car to various autocross events around the metro area.
Being a part of the team presents far more opportunities than most people realize. Most importantly, the group offers an incredibly welcoming environment where anyone can become comfortable, make friends, have fun, and grow both their social and engineering skills. They regularly hold social events where they watch movies,
F1 races, or grab food as group. Many people on the team will also end up working on homework together, making it an unofficial study group. With more than 80 members currently on the team, there are countless opportunities to meet, befriend, and work with people from all across the university. Lastly, it offers a well-rounded engineering experience. Learning how to manage and integrate eight entirely different systems into one vehicle that has to have a single vision is
1v4astMlyE Nemws Soprrineg 20d22 ifficult than simply optimizing for the best of one of those.