Baja NOW BAJA@IOWA: December 6, 2017

Today, Iowa Baja was on display at the 2017 Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Senior Design Night. During the event, Senior students preparing to graduate put their required Senior Design Projects on display. Iowa Baja sent our two Executive Representatives, Treasurer Alex Dalziel and Secretary Eric Jones to promote Iowa Baja to any additional students visiting the event, as well as to introduce Baja to prospective Sponsors. 

 
Eric Jones (left) and Alex Dalziel at the MIE Senior Design Night

Eric Jones (left) and Alex Dalziel at the MIE Senior Design Night

 
Its great to have the privilege to represent Baja at events like this, as it also gives me experience interacting with fellow engineers.
— Eric Jones

Iowa Baja was represented by two teams, each redesigning a particular section of the upcoming National Competition Vehicle. Team 1,  former Vice President Alec La Velle, who led the team redesigning the upcoming Braking System  Their team advised Baja to utilize braking parts by Wilwood for future designs. Conor McCarthy was enthusiastic about the results of the redesign.

 
The Braking Design Team explaining the final results of their project to President Kayla Denson & Vice President Rob Pohren

The Braking Design Team explaining the final results of their project to President Kayla Denson & Vice President Rob Pohren

 
This gave me great hands-on experience and had plenty of memorable experiences while developing this system for Baja. I am confident it will work as designed for their team
— Braking System Designer Conor McCarthy

Team 2 was given the task of redesigning the Constant Velocity Shafts. Previously, the joints were unparallel, which caused immature failure. Our new design has been tested and proven to remedy the problem. The team, which consisted of members Conor Hensley, Claudio Huerta, and Javier Garcia were happy to be able to help fix a critical item for the upcoming vehicle.

 
Members of the CV Re-design Team explain their concepts to the Executive Board

Members of the CV Re-design Team explain their concepts to the Executive Board

 
This was a great project for our team as it allowed us to learn more about the inner workings of the system, giving us the hands-on Experience we will need in the future. It was good to work on a project with a bigger picture.
— Braking Designers Claudio Huerta & Javier Garcia

All in all, it was a great time to be able to be able to share what we have been up to in our shop with the rest of the University of Iowa Community. Moments like these would not be possible without our generous sponsors. The team at the Department of Mechanical Engineering have been instrumental in moments like these where Baja displays the knowledge taught by the College of Engineering

From (left) Alexis Busch, Tara Hoadley and Maria Chusin at the 2017 Senior Design Night

From (left) Alexis Busch, Tara Hoadley and Maria Chusin at the 2017 Senior Design Night

MIE Departmental Executive Office Chair Ching-Long Lin giving remarks at the event

MIE Departmental Executive Office Chair Ching-Long Lin giving remarks at the event

 
The Baja Executive Board: (From left): Eric Jones, Alex Dalziel, Kayla Denson, Rob Pohren

The Baja Executive Board: (From left): Eric Jones, Alex Dalziel, Kayla Denson, Rob Pohren

 

We are always looking for donations to our team. We accept material, machine time as well as monetary donations. For more information, check out the "Sponsors" page of our website.