YSU eHPV team earns top innovation award at national ASME competition

A team of four Youngstown State University mechanical engineering seniors earned national recognition last weekend at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ Electric-Assisted Human Powered Vehicle Competition in Orlando, Florida.

The YSU team placed third in the design event and received the Best Innovation Overall award, the most prestigious honor presented at the competition. Teams from universities across the country competed in the multi-day event, which evaluates engineering design, safety, performance and innovation.

The team was advised by Stefan Moldovan, assistant professor, Mechanical Engineering, and included seniors Nick Johnson, Dylan Felleti, Jackson Johnson and Quinten Hamey, all of which graduated during the College of STEM Commencement ceremony just a few days ago.

“It’s incredibly rewarding to see our students achieve this level of success on a national stage,” Moldovan said. “Their work reflects the full engineering process from concept and analysis to testing and real-world application.”

One of the team’s defining features was its extensive use of custom, in-house carbon fiber components, rather than prefabricated parts.

“All of our carbon fiber components were made in house by the team from start to finish,” said Felleti. “Every part of the vehicle went through a thorough analysis to ensure the safety of the rider.”

Felleti emphasized that competing against larger universities made the accomplishment especially meaningful.

“While we didn’t have the same resources that the larger universities had, we showed that YSU has a great program with strong students and faculty,” he said.

Looking to improve upon YSU’s previous eHPV design, the team focused on improving efficiency, reducing weight and enhancing durability. Advanced engineering simulations such as finite element analysis and computational fluid dynamics were used throughout the design process to refine the tube-making process.

“This experience deepened my understanding of the transition from detailed computer based design to real world fabrication,” Jackson Johnson said. “By combining in-depth FEA with experimental testing, our team was able to validate our results and strengthen our overall conclusions.”

Hamey highlighted the perks of developing materials at YSU. “By utilizing our ability to manufacture carbon fiber tubes in-house, our vehicle was able to fully take advantage of lightweight, flexible carbon fiber components,” he said.

Nick Johnson emphasized that YSU’s hands-on approach prepared the team well for the competition.

“YSU’s Mechanical Engineering program provided a strong foundation in design, analysis and teamwork,” he said. “That experience translated directly to success at this level.”

Coming off of this past weekend’s Commencement, the students will go on to begin their careers in areas like product engineering, structural engineering and the Ohio National Guard.

Moldovan noted that the national recognition highlights both student dedication and the strength of YSU’s Mechanical Engineering program.

“This achievement shows what our students can accomplish through hard work, innovation and collaboration,” he said. “I think there are a lot of lessons that they learned that will help them succeed in their careers.”