Thursday afternoon brought a spectacle as sunlight bathed the manicured Kerrwood Hall lawn. Hordes of Westmont College students gathered to witness an annual event - the Remote-Control Race Car Competition. Remote-control race cars zoomed across the green, each with its unique design. One car was all pink, dubbed the “Barbie” car, another had wings attached, and others were painted with eclectic designs and insignias.

Student Insights and Learning

Student Mia Rapalo shared, "Imagine the thrill and excitement of high-speed racing on a miniature scale. Welcome to Westmont RC car race, where we put our engineering powers to the ultimate test." Each year, Dr. Dan Jensen of the mechanical engineering department organizes this competition for his Machine Design class students. They are divided into groups of two and tasked with building an RC car that can race and endure a car jump.This year's competition had a 60-second “elevator pitch” where students detailed the learning process of building the RC car. Then came the head-to-head race on a figure-eight-shaped course, followed by the car jump.Student Landon Vanderhyde said, "This process taught us that durability needs to be designed for. As a wise man once said, ‘Anyone can pilot the boat when it's in the harbor, but what are you like when you’re in the open sea?’" Student Grace Morgan added, "This project brought engineering principles to life and deepened our understanding of machine design through teamwork and problem solving. It allowed us to apply concepts learned in class to a real-world context."

Competition Highlights

Soon, the competition began. As the cars revved their miniature engines at the starting line, more students gathered to watch. Reigning champion Noah Shen, now a TA, was also in attendance, using his passion and experience to mentor students.During the race, cars collided, and a spectator joked, "I hope they have insurance!" After several rematches due to ties, Gavin Stay and Renna Sequeira took home the first place prize in the race portion. In the jump segment, some cars missed the jump, while others landed just as soon as they left the ramp. One car, belonging to Landon Vanderhyde and Kyler Hanson, clearly surpassed the competition with a whopping 218 airborne inches. They excitedly celebrated their two successful launches.

Winners and Reactions

After the competition wrapped up, students waited in anticipation as Jensen announced the first-place position. Grace Morgan and Ainsley Martin were this year's winners, while Landon Vanderhyde and Kyler Hanson took home second place overall, and Abigail Lingel and Celeste Marquez came in third.Third-year Westmont College engineering majors Grace Morgan and Ainsley Martin expressed their excitement. Ainsley Martin said, "It's super exciting. It was really cool to see how to apply everything we've learned in class to an actual application and see how it all comes together." Grace Morgan reflected, "After all the math, learning, and writing, we finally got to the point in our engineering program where we could apply these skills, and it was very cool."Jensen began holding these competitions three years ago, inspired by his desire to provide a fun and rewarding experience for engineering students. He explained, "Research data says that you learn better when you're having fun." He enjoys watching students have fun while learning.The process of making these cars was not without challenges. Jensen said the building process was time-consuming, and students often got frustrated. But when they saw their contraptions fly off the jump, the raw joy was worth it. He continued, "I think how hard it is to get a physical engineering system to work is really important for engineers to know. For my students to learn that it all looks good on paper but is hard to make work in reality is the real deal."Student Gavin Stay said, "This class has been so fun. We've learned things like gears, bearings, and shafts, and those are good in the classroom, but real-life, hands-on work is way more valuable."