UNC Charlotte hosts SAE Night

Members of the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) chapters from all over the Carolinas gathered in the UNC Charlotte Automotive Research Center for Formula SAE Night.

Any university in North and South Carolina with an engineering program that participates in a SAE design competition was invited to attend.

“It’s a big deal to have this here, and having it here lets other schools see what we have going on as far as our engineering program goes,” said UNC Charlotte Formula SAE team leader Kyle Tretow.

There were several events throughout the night. It started at 4 p.m. as different teams arrived and set up displays. Many teams brought their cars from either previous years or cars that they are currently working on.

After the teams arrived, there was a meet and greet where members of different Formula SAE teams could meet professionals as well as students from other schools. The meet and greet was followed by a short dinner.

“It’s a big deal for us … to have an event like this where we can showcase what we’re doing, have our team members be able to talk to people in the industry, talk to people on other teams,” said Tretow.

After the dinner, teams began their mock presentations. Different SAE teams presented their designs in front of a panel of judges who they will have to present to at a future competition.

“Everybody kind of has there own train of thought and they put their own special twist on it and now you get to see everybody else’s special twist,” said UNC Charlotte Formula SAE team member Douglas Clark.

Teams that performed the best during their mock presentation were awarded a small cash prize.