A team of students from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind., took the top prizes at both Human Powered Vehicle Challenges that ASME held this spring. The HPV East and West events, in which students put aerodynamically designed vehicles through speed and endurance tests on designated courses, were held in Philadelphia and Portland, Ore., respectively. In addition to the students from Rose-Hulman, other winners at the East and West Challenges included teams from Pennsylvania’s Grove City College and Colorado State University.

+ This photo shows a member of the team from Universidad del Zulia Costa del Lago, of Maracaibo, Venezuela. They placed fourth overall in the single-rider category at the HPV East event in Philadelphia.

Teams from 27 universities — including schools from India, Chile and Venezuela — competed in the HPV East Challenge, which was held April 17-19 at Drexel University in Philadelphia. The team from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology took first place overall in the single-rider category at the event with its entry Mark IV. Missouri University of Science and Technology’s vehicle Transgressor was the runner-up, and Olin College’s Helios rounded out the top three in that category.

+ Mark IV, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's entry into the 2009 ASME Human Powered Vehicle Challenge, finished first overall in the single-rider category at both the HPV East and West competitions. Here is it shown speeding toward a first-place finish at the HPV West event. Photo courtesy of Bill Bates.

Meanwhile, Grove City College’s entry Whistling Willy took top honors overall in the multi-rider and utility vehicle categories at HPV East. The University of Iowa’s Rudy Hertz placed second, while Drexel University’s own Dragon Wagon 3.0 placed third in the event’s multi-rider class. Northern Wind, from Northern Illinois University, took second place in the utility vehicle category, followed by Central Connecticut State University’s Ripped Rider in third place.

+ The University of Central Florida's HPV entry Vicious Cycle (front) and the University of Iowa's Rudy Hertz navigate their way through single-rider sprint race at the HPV East event. Vicious Cycle finished fifth overall in the single-rider category at the HPV East, while Rudy Hertz placed ninth overall.

At the HPV West event, which took place May 1-3 at Portland State University, Rose-Hulman’s Mark IV once again took top spot in the single-rider vehicle category, while California Polytechnic State University’s entry Atlas and Missouri S&T’s Transgressor followed closely behind. Rampage, from Colorado State University, placed first in the utility vehicle category, while University of Nevada, Reno’s Carmen Sandiego and Seattle University’s Optimus’ Hawkenheimer finished in second- and third-place, respectively. There was only one entry in the event’s multi-rider category — San Jose State’s Careless Whisper. A total of 28 universities took part in the competition.

The team from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology returned home from the competitions $1,000 richer, as each overall first-place team won $500 and a trophy. Winners of the overall second-place prize received $200, while each third-place team took home $100.

For more results from the 2009 HPV East and West Challenges, visit www.asme.org/Events/Contests/HPV/Human_Powered_Vehicle.cfm.

+ Drexel University, which hosted the HPV East event, had two entries in the competition. This one, Dragon Wagon 2.0, took third place overall in the multi-rider category.