Princeton Racing Electric Students Design Sustainable Race Car
When Ben Sorkin put on his racing suit and helmet, he knew the moment he waited over two years for had finally come. His teammates helped strap him into the driver’s seat. For the first time, he would be energizing their electric car for its very first run around a race track.
Sorkin, a mechanical and aerospace engineering major and rising senior, is a member of the student organization Princeton Racing Electric.
“The thing that drives the team toward success is the intersection between passion and sustainability,” Sorkin said. “We are doing research and innovation for a sustainable energy future.”
Princeton Racing Electric has over 30 student members representing multiple class years and academic disciplines. For the past two years, the team has been designing and building an all-electric, high-performance vehicle to compete in the international Formula Hybrid competition run by Dartmouth College’s Thayer School of Engineering. In May 2015, the students completed a car in time for the competition held at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. However, the team did not pass the mandatory inspections, and the car was not able to race.