Future engineer building Dal’s first electric car
Mitchell Gregory (BEng’22), Captain of the Formula Society for Automotive Engineering is putting his engineering education to work building Dal’s first electric-powered racing car.
By Stephanie Paterson
If you were to label him a ‘car guy’, Mitchell Gregory (BEng’22) would agree with you. He grew up working alongside his dad rebuilding cars, eventually buying his own to restore. “I spent hours rebuilding that car and learning how it came together,” says Gregory. “It fueled my interest in both the automotive industry and mechanical engineering.” Gregory is now a Master of Mechanical Engineering student and current Captain of Dalhousie’s Formula Society of Automotive Engineering (FSAE) team and is working on building the team’s first electric-powered racing car.
Turning concepts into components
Gregory joined the FSAE team in 2017 during the first year of his undergraduate degree. “While other students were searching for the best food places on campus, I was researching Dal’s racing team and how to join,” says Gregory. Even with limited free time to commit to the team, Gregory says he still had the opportunity to contribute. “I was able to design a carbon-fiber air duct used in the car’s drivetrain, which was a great experience to have as a first-year student.”
As he became more involved with FSAE, Gregory says he began to see the concepts he was learning about in class come to life with the car. “I realized that almost all of my mechanical engineering class related directly to some component of the car,” he says. “Our courses tend to be more theory-based with few opportunities to do hands-on things but working on the car has helped me improve my skills in developing prototypes.”
That’s why learning experiences that propel students beyond the classroom are so vital. Many of which are made possible through alumni and donor support of the Dalhousie Fund. This year, the faculty is encouraging donations to the Future Engineering Fund, established to offer more students the opportunity to develop their skills and use what they learn in the classroom to create actual products.
Gregory connected with professor Lukas Swan’s renewable energy lab during his undergraduate degree, an experience that he says opened a new possibility for the team’s next competition car. “When you look at the automotive industry you can see it shifting to electric,” says Gregory. “I saw a great opportunity to use what I was learning in the lab and work with the team to build our first electric racing car.”
Making the switch to electric
The team began an extensive redesign process of the car which started with identifying knowledge gaps in the existing team. But Gregory saw an opportunity to engage a whole new group of engineering students from other programs, such as electrical. “Working with engineers from other programs, with their own design processes, helped me learn to communicate better and work as a team,” he says. “It’s a really important skill to have if you want to be part of a strong engineering team.”
While the design process continued, Gregory realized that several components of the car would need to be replaced. “Rebuilding the car into an electric version required a lot of upfront costs,” he says. Gregory and the FSAE team are grateful for the support of sponsors and donors, which provided the funding needed to turn their design into reality. Powered by Emera, the team now has the resources to upgrade equipment and purchase the essential electric components for their vehicle, including a motor and control electronics.
“Having the funds available was a huge relief,” says Gregory. “It meant we could put our heads down in the details and work on taking the car from a virtual design to a real thing. And that’s beautiful.”
Building stronger engineers
Building a new type of vehicle has provided Gregory and his fellow teammates with a unique hands-on learning opportunity – one he says is important for future engineers.
“For young engineers, it’s important we seek out opportunities to develop our skills. And there are some skills that only come from hands-on practice with like-minded people.” As the team starts building their first electric racing car, Gregory says he’s ready to see what his team will accomplish at the 2023 competition. “We have an incredible facility and a lot of bright minds at Dal. Putting those two together has enabled us to build something incredible.”