Arthur W. Page Center Helps Penn State AVT Fund Sustainability Event

The Arthur. W. Page Center was pleased to help fund a sustainability-related event to promote the work of Penn State students to alumni on Friday, April 17, during Blue White Weekend. The student group, Penn State Advanced Vehicle Team (AVT), are participating in a national competition, EcoCAR3.

EcoCAR3 is a four-year engineering and communication collegiate competition that engages students in identifying, implementing, and communicating strategies to reduce environmental impacts and promote sustainable solutions in the automotive industry. A group of 10 students from the College of Communications at Penn State have joined the Outreach Team of the AVT. They have conducted more than a dozen events during the 2014-2015 school year to promote sustainability on campus and in the community.

The Arthur W. Page Center offered to help fund the team’s alumni event which took place over Blue-White Weekend. The theme of the event was ‘Blue, White and Green’ and alumni were invited out to the Thomas D. Larson Institute Garage to take a closer look at several of the cars built for the previous competitions. Engineering members of the Penn State AVT were there to answer questions and to talk about their work relating to the EcoCAR competition.

In May the Penn State AVT will present at the EcoCAR 3 competition, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors. The team is one of the 16 University teams selected to redesign a 2016 Chevrolet Camaro. The goal of the competition is to make the car more environmentally friendly, while maintaining its performance levels, safety and iconic look. The competition stretches out over a period of 4 years from 2014 to 2018. The team won third place at the EcoCAR 2 competition with its converted 2013 Chevrolet Malibu. The Outreach Team placed second.

The Penn State AVT will fly to Seattle on May 29 to present its year-long efforts to the EcoCAR judges and return home on June 5. The Page Center wishes them the best of luck!