Dr. Peyman Honarmandi with MiniBAJA students
from 2023 and 2024 at the New York Auto Show.
DR. HONARMANDI/COURTESY
By Lauren Raziano, Senior Writer
Manhattan College’s MiniBaja 2023 team took center stage at the 2024 New York Auto Show from March 30 to April 7.
Although the 2023 Mini Baja team graduated last May, their vehicle not only conquered the 2023 SAE Oregon Baja Race but also earned a spot at the prestigious Auto Show.
The MiniBaja competition allows students to apply their engineering knowledge to design, build, test and ultimately compete in a Baja SAE competition and an International Collegiate Design competition.
The two main events for the International Collegiate Design include static and dynamic events, with design and vehicle performance presentations, sales and marketing presentations and acceleration and maneuverability tests.
The official Mini Baja SAE website defined their competition as one that not only allows students to apply their academics to real-world applications but also one that builds leadership and teamwork.
“Baja SAE challenges engineering students to design and build an off-road vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain and in some competitions, water,” the website stated. “As in real work situations, these future engineers work together as a team to discover and resolve technical challenges in design, test, and manufacturing, as well as business issues. The most rugged of all the competitions, Baja SAE also gives students the first-hand challenge of pursuing their passion while managing real-life demands and priorities.”
Associate professor of mechanical engineering and MiniBaja’s faculty advisor, Peyman Honarmandi, Ph.D., is extremely proud of his students’ success. Honarmandi explained further the importance of student-led applications that MiniBaja employs.
“Students get the chance to apply what they learned in the classroom to a real-world design scenario and go through the rigorous process of building an off-road vehicle from scratch on the Manhattan College campus,” Honarmandi said. “The 2023 Baja SAE team at Manhattan College is incredibly proud of the achievements they have made. Through passion, integrity, and sacrifice, the team accomplished the ambitious goals they set over a year ago, and have made permanent skills of engineering, manufacturing, teamwork, and perseverance through the process.”
Besides MC, there were three schools that were able to participate in the New York Auto Show exhibition including Stevenson University, Rutgers University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT).
Mechanical engineering graduate Matthew Kelly ‘23 was team captain for the 2022-2023 Manhattan College Baja SAE team.
“To build the Baja vehicle from scratch during 2022-2023 was an incredibly difficult and demanding journey,” Kelly wrote in an email to The Quadrangle. “I am immensely proud of our team for realizing our goals and ambitions. However, I am also grateful for our advisor, Dr. Peyman Honarmandi, and student engagement’s assistant director, Sharon Ortega, for believing in our team and giving us the opportunity to drive across the country to compete with a vehicle that we are proud to represent Manhattan College with.”
Kelly mentioned some of the difficulties they had with constructing the 2023 vehicle. At the 2023 Oregon Hill Climb event, MC was one of the only 31 vehicles out of 100, to compete and survive three of the four hours in the endurance race before an unfortunate engine failure disabled the vehicle.
“The Baja SAE competition relies on strict and comprehensive safety rules to make sure that all vehicles that are racing will be safe for both the driver and spectators,” Kelly wrote. “Out of the 100 vehicles that are registered for competition, only a couple usually end up passing the safety and rule inspection on the first try. Despite our best effort, we ended up not being compliant on some roll cage specifications that required us to weld new frame members in the rear of the vehicle during competition.”
Even with strict time constraints and limited resources, Kelly is immensely proud that their vehicle was selected for the New York Auto Show exhibition. Kelly is now an engineer at General Dynamics Electric Boat helping build nuclear submarines.
“For myself, seeing the Baja selected for the NY Auto Show exhibit was an incredible affirmation for the hard work and sacrifice our team committed to creating and competing with the MC Baja vehicle,” Kelly wrote.