Under the direction of Dr. Ali Emadi, a few ECE students began a novel approach to research and learning at IIT and it has grown to be the largest interdisciplinary student project in the history of the university. The Armour College of Engineering (ACE) Formula Hybrid Racing Team is a research based project in which students build a new hybrid race car from scratch every year. Once it is built, the team races against other universities at an annual event sponsored by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

“The formula hybrid competition provides the opportunity for undergraduate students to truly have an impact on hybrid research,” says Sanjaka Wirasingha, second-year electrical engineering Ph.D. candidate. “In addition to the academic benefit, the extensive media coverage of the event gives our students an opportunity to reflect on their experiences publicly, which is a great way to present the technology, increase awareness of the possibilities of alternative energy sources, and hopefully generate more research in the area.”

The team of more than 100 students includes all grade levels from undergraduate to Ph.D. candidates. All students, representing several engineering majors and other disciplines—electrical, mechanical, computer, aerospace, chemical, civil, architectural, sciences, and information technology management—contribute to the design.

For further information about our Formula Hybrid Team, please visit http://formulahybrid.iit.edu/.

On the leading edge of vehicle hybridization development stands Ph.D. candidate Sanjaka Wirasingha. Having completed his bachelor’s and master’s in electrical engineering from IIT, Wirasingha is now lab manager of Dr. Emadi’s Power Electronics and Motor Drives Lab. His master’s thesis work on the hybridization of a transit bus from India, which won the Grand Prize in master's research in electrical and computer engineering, is only part of his impressive array of projects. He is currently working on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, protection and management of battery packs, and development of hybrid energy storage systems. Wirasingha has been the founding project manager of the ACE Formula Hybrid Team (IIT’s entry to the Formula Hybrid Competition) and has served as a teaching assistant and Interprofessional Projects (IPRO) program instructor.