Buckeye Bullet 2 Sets New FIA Hydrogen Fuel Cell Land Speed Record*

*All records are subject to FIA (or ASN) recognition. Per standard procedures, the FIA is reviewing results of the October 2007 meet at Bonneville and will announce their conclusions soon.

October 10, 2007 - Buckeye Bullet 2 sets new FIA fuel cell vehicle land speed record*

October 4, 2007 - Buckeye Bullet 2 is the fastest hydrogen powered and fuel cell vehicle on earth!

Congratulations from Ohio State President Gordon Gee and Board of Trustees Chair Gil Cloyd

'O-H-I-O' Buckeye Bullet 2 at the Bonneville Salt Flats

\
Taken by student Kevin Ponziani just after the Buckeye Bullet 2 set a new world land speed record for hydrogen fuel cell electric cars at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah

Buckeye Bullet 2: Fastest Hydrogen Car on Earth!

Buckeye Bullet 2: Fastest Hydrogen Car on Earth!
Source: BNI/SCTA

Buckeye Bullet 2 - 2007 Bonneville World Finals (Singleton/USFRA)

Salt Lake City's Morningside Elementary School shines on Buckeye Bullet 2 (USFRA/Brent Singleton)

Buckeye Bullet 2 at Bonneville World Finals Day 1 (BB2/Kevin Ponziani)

BB2 Push Start - Bonneville Speed Week 2007 (BB2/ Kevin Ponziani)

Ford Hyrodgen Fusion 999 at Bonneville - 207 MPH (Ford Motor Co.)

Photos: Kevin Ponziani, Andrea Barger, Sam VarnHagen (Ford) & Brent Singleton (USFRA)


Kevin Ponziani photo of Buckeye Bullet driver & TRC lead performance driving instructor Roger Schroer

Buckeye Bullet 2 at 201 mph on Bonneville Salt Flats (Photo by Greg Sailor)

Buckeye Bullet 2 at Bonneville starting line - Photo by Andrea Barger - BB1, BB2 and Ohio State Alum - now at Cummins

Buckeye Bullet 2 Photo by BB2 student team member Kevin Ponziani

Drawing from Autotech Daily

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Buckeye Bullet Race Shop in center of Route 315 research & technology corridor

The Buckeye Bullet race shop and garage are right in the center of Columbus's Route 315 Research & Technology Corridor. Here's the latest news. Check out www.315corridor,com

Go Bucks!

High-tech 'Strategic Playbook' for 315 Research + Technology Corridor to grow Unprecedented Partnerships and New Jobs in Columbus

Having assembled an unprecedented partnership in economic development - including Battelle, The Ohio State University, the Columbus Chamber, TechColumbus, and the region’s four major health care centers – the City of Columbus now has a high-tech “strategic playbook” to direct job growth in the emerging 315 Research + Technology Corridor.

Columbus City Council President Matt Habash and Council's Jobs and Economic Development Chair Mary Jo Hudson, along with Mayor Coleman's Economic Development Director Bill Webster, unveiled an interactive CD-ROM and website to jumpstart education, development, and marketing on the Corridor.

The website (www.315corridor.com) and the CD-ROM detail the business plans to grow this world class center of jobs and innovation. There is also a first-ever directory of businesses and research facilities and a self-playing animated overview of the Corridor.

“Through collaboration and continued community education, we have the power to transform our region into a premier international destination,” said Council President Habash. “But to sell the world, we have to sell ourselves. We cannot begin to convince major investors, companies, and researchers to make the Corridor their home if we cannot convince ourselves.”

“The City’s investment is already there, in the nearly $2.5 million City Council has committed to infrastructure on Kinnear Road and McKinley Avenue and a first-of-its-kind Technology Growth Incentive that secured 320 health care jobs,” Councilmember Hudson added. “Other state funding requests will pay for wet labs and smart offices for start ups – a whole new approach to entrepreneurial development here in Central Ohio.”

One recommendation in the plan is the creation of a joint economic development approach and common zoning principles for Columbus, Grandview Heights, Upper Arlington and Clinton Township within the Corridor.

“Collaboration will be the key to moving forward,” said Virginia Barney, City Manager for Upper Arlington, one of the partners in Corridor effort. “We can accomplish things together that we never could have done alone.”

In addition to the community and business outreach, some of the other recommended actions in the new plans include:

  • Securing additional federal and state funding to jumpstart storm water and streetscape enhancement projects along Kinnear Road and make COSI a true gateway to the Corridor
  • Collaborating with local educators and learning center on workforce development, to strengthen lifelong learning opportunities and increase the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) capacity of area primary and secondary students.
Posted by Pete Miller at 7:12 PM 0 comments Links to this post

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Bonneville '06: 500 teams & 3,000 spectators

To all Buckeye Bullet sponsors and fans: Your support of the Buckeye Bullet program has also helped to increase Bonneville's popularity exponentially in the last six years. Thank you.

Bret Kepners' review of Speedweek 2006 from Landspeedracing.com

. . . the magnificently positive aspects of Speed Week 2006.

The very fact that the spectator count easily apporached 3,000 when no appreciable benefit could be gained from the film (The World's Fastest Indian which had limited theater showings and low attendance) speaks volumes of the popularity of the salt. While I'll be the first to recognize the exceptional efforts of Dave Freiburger to keep alive the history of Hot Rod Magazine's involvement, (and the fact that we've all watched him from his rookie runs to membership in the Two Club), I'd venture the prospect that the non-automotive mainstream coverage has been the deciding factor in Speed Week's jump in both attendance and participation since the late 1980s. It was electronic communication, and the 'Net in particular, which finally gave the layman an opportunity to find out the "when and where" information which kept the SCTA on par with the Tri-Lateral Commission for more than a half-century.

I've kept accurate statistics on the success of Speed Week for more than three decades, (making a me a grey-haired "young punk" in salt years), and can verify that, as the InterNet and its influences grew, so did the number of spectators and machines during Speed Week. Due to small luxuries such as the SCTA website and the Amo's LandRacing.com, the fans and racers who once only dreamed of heading for Mecca suddenly realized it was a real place with a real schedule.

After we all watched the numbers increase from the stagnant 220-car events of the 1980s to the 300-400 car meets of the '90s, this year's 500 entries was almost expected. I'll be the first to admit to the shock we all experienced at the number of paid spectators, campers at the Bend, and rat rods at the Stateline but we can certainly expect even bigger crowds when the largest number of media impressions is created not by the automotive print media but by outlets such as The Discovery Channel. Heck, the Weather Channel included Speed Week in its "spotlight events" each morning!

For those who didn't make it this year, you'll be interested to know that the National Geographic Channel shot multiple shows at the event. It's only going to get bigger!
While 2006 was a phenomenal year in terms of performances, weather, crowds, and pre-event publicity, I'm actually just as excited about the influx of new fans who will be able to experience the thrill of Bonneville for the first time due to the "ink" we can expect to be presented over the next eleven months. It's definitely a wonderful period for the salt!

Bret Kepner
BRETKEPNER@Prodigy.net
Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Posted by Pete Miller at 9:40 AM 0 comments Links to this post

Friday, August 25, 2006

Shell donates $1 million to Ohio State for hydrogen fuel research

Shell donates $1 million to OSU for alternative fuel research
Thursday, August 24, 2006

Shell Oil Co. is giving Ohio State University $1 million for research to help make hydrogen an alternative fuel to oil, the company's president announced today at OSU.

The grant is one of the largest Shell is giving a university this year and could lead to other large research grants for OSU, said Shell President John Hofmeister.

The money, given over two years, will pay for research by Professor W.S. Winston Ho, who is searching for a way to draw pure hydrogen out of waste from fossil fuels. That hydrogen is needed to operate hydrogen fuel cells, which can power cars and other vehicles.

Hofmeister said Ho's work “could be a major breakthrough” in the production of useable hydrogen to replace oil and gas as a preferred energy source.

“The future is in our hands,” he said.

Shell already gave Ho a $60,000 grant for the first year of his research last year. Hofmeister said Shell decided to continue the collaboration because the work is closely aligned with Shell's hydrogen research and because of Ohio State's “premier” reputation in energy research.

The $1 million donation ranks among the top amounts donors have pledged to OSU in 2006. The largest pledge is $5.5 million from Battelle Memorial Institute, followed by $2 million from Hyperion Solutions Corp., $1.2 million from Iams Co. and $1 million from Worthington Industries.

Pete Miller
The Ohio State University Buckeye Bullet 2
The World's First Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Land Speed Racing Team

Posted by Pete Miller at 12:30 PM 0 comments Links to this post

Thursday, August 24, 2006

BBII Sponsor Tom Burkland - 410 MPH at Bonneville

To all Buckeye Bullet sponsors and fans,
Buckeye Bullet advisor and sponsor Tom Burkland drove the fastest car at Bonneville last week: 410.997 MPH. Congrats Tom!! See all 2006 Bonneville National Speed Week results at http://scta-bni.org/Bonneville/Speedweek%2006/results.htm
Go Bucks!
Pete Miller
The Ohio State University Buckeye Bullet 2
The World's First Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Land Speed Racing Team
The Ohio State University Buckeye Bullet
The World's Fastest Wheel Driven Electric Vehicle - 321MPH at Bonneville
US & International Land Speed Recorded Holder
www.RoadToBonneville.com
Posted by Pete Miller at 9:07 AM 0 comments Links to this post

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Buckeye Bullet Alum Sets Two Bonneville Land Speed Records

Pete, can't let you brag about GM like that. Here's the press release for the car I've worked on while at Chrysler.

The extent of the Chrysler Sponsorship in this case, is that they gave us an old race motor that had been sitting around for years unused, and let us borrow a tow vehicle and trailer to get out there. The rest is paid for by the car owner.

See you soon,

Chrysler Brains Beat GM Brawn
A team of Chrysler engineers sets two Land Speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats

Working on nights and weekends out of a 3-car family garage, a small team of Chrysler engineers designed and built a race car —powered by a Chrysler SRT-sponsored 2.0 liter DOHC race engine with a Hardman Racing Turbo System— and then set two new land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats during Speed Week, August 12-19, 2006. Their top competitor was a GM-sponsored car built in a professional race shop with a considerable budget and dedicated staff.

The car belongs to powertrain engineer Ken Hardman, an employee of DaimlerChrysler since 1995. Hardman has been racing at Bonneville for the past 14 years and currently holds 15 national land speed records. His crew at Bonneville included crew chief Tom Wierzchon, Ed Hillstrom, and Tom O’Dell, all DaimlerChrysler engineering professionals. In his spare time, Hardman designs, fabricates and constructs the vehicle with help from the Bonneville crew and from DaimlerChrysler engineer John Bucknell and intern Matt Curry. “This race effort is far too huge for a single individual, and it’s my entire team that deserves the credit for these two new records,” Hardman says.

Hardman’s latest records were set in the G/BFL (2.0 liter Blown Fuel Lakester) class at a speed of 235.304 mph, smashing the previous 2004 record of 204.313 mph by 31 mph, and in the G/BGL (2.0 liter Blown Gas Lakester) class with a speed of 212.766 mph on a 2005 record of 189.205 mph, previously held by a GM sponsored car built by SoCal Speed Shop. The fastest speed recorded by the Hardman Racing Lakester was 257.116 mph in the fifth mile with a 262.716 mph exit speed. The first iteration of the Hardman Racing vehicle was built with a 500cc motorcycle engine in 1991-92 while Hardman was completing his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering at northern California’s Santa Clara University. In the summer of 1992, the vehicle’s first attempts produced three land speed records at El Mirage Dry Lake and the Bonneville Salt Flats. In 1994, Hardman improved the vehicle by building a two-stroke engine turbo-charging system as his design project for his Masters in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

The vehicle was originally built as a Lakester (wheels outside the plane of the body) but has also run as a Streamliner (at least two wheels inside the body). In 14 years of participation in land speed racing, the Hardman Racing vehicle has produced 19 records in 13 different classes.

This year’s version of the car has proven that ingenuity and creativity can overcome limited resources. “We have not even begun to tap into the true power of this engine- both our records were set at part throttle,” Hardman says. “We managed to set two significantly higher new records with only eight passes on the track!”

Ed Hillstrom
DaimlerChrysler-Core Vehicle Dynamics
EH543@DCX.COM
Posted by Pete Miller at 9:46 AM 1 comments Links to this post

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

JCB DIESELMAX BECOMES WORLD'S FASTEST DIESEL AT 328 MPH

JCB DIESELMAX today became the world's fastest diesel-powered car, as Andy Green set a new FIA international record of 328.767 mph (526.027 kph) on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah and beat the existing record by almost 100 mph. The JCB team will make a further attempt to raise the record tomorrow.

Running at daybreak, when course conditions were at their most suitable, Green achieved 324.248 mph (518.797 kph) on his first run. Under FIA regulations he made his return 333.339 mph (533.342 kph) within one hour, to secure the new record, giving the average of 328.767 mph (526.027 kph). The previous mark, set by Virgil W Snyder at Bonneville in the Thermo King Streamliner on August 25 1973, was 235.756 mph (377.205 kph).


Stepping from the car driver Andy Green said, "This is exactly what we came to do today - this is British engineering at its absolute best. We now have the fastest diesel in the world.


"We have now set two records in only four runs which is a stunning engineering and team achievement.


"To have built the world's fastest diesel is a stunning achievement for the whole JCB DIESELMAX team, and the car performed superbly," commented a delighted Dr Tim Leverton, Project Director.


"Our goal was to set an official FIA record in excess of 300 mph, and we have achieved that, and more. The success is a tribute to everyone who has worked so tirelessly and with such passion to make JCB DIESELMAX a world beater."


"This is a marvellous achievement for JCB and a wonderful tribute to British engineering. I am hugely proud of everyone in the JCB DIESELMAX team who have designed and built the car in less than a year and made it record breaker at the first attempt," said Sir Anthony Bamford, JCB's Chairman, who witnessed the record run on the Salt Flats.


JCB DIESELMAX was born from Sir Anthony's vision and desire to showcase the extreme performance of the JCB444 diesel engine which normally powers the company's backhoe loaders and Loadall telescopic handlers.


Please click here to view image.

- Ends -

For further information contact:

JCB DIESELMAX PRESS OFFICE

UK/European Media

Jonathan Gill

T: +44 (0) 7860 563000

E: jonathan.gill@fingal.co.uk

US/Media

Amanda Gadeselli

T: (801) 867 1497

E: amanda.gadeselli@fingal.co.uk

Peter Panarisi

T: (801) 867 1490

E: peter.panarisi@fingal.co.uk

JCB WORLD COMMUNICATIONS

Daniel Ward

T: +44 (0)1889 59 3602

E: daniel.ward@jcb.com

Editors notes:

Posted by Pete Miller at 2:24 PM 0 comments Links to this post

Friday, August 18, 2006

Ohio State in Top 19 Public Universities

University moves up two spots in U.S. News & World Report rankings

COLUMBUS - According to the U.S. News & World Report 2007 edition of America's Best Colleges released today, The Ohio State University has been named 19th among the nation's top 50 public universities, up from 21st in 2005, 22nd in 2004 and 2003, and 24th in 2002.

"This is the latest evidence of the clear, steady increase in the academic reputation of this great university," said Ohio State President Karen A. Holbrook.

While noting that competition is intense to be among the top 20 public universities, Holbrook said the rankings reflect the dedication of many. "This accomplishment is a reflection of the talent and efforts of our faculty and students. We can also credit our alumni, friends and partners at the community, state and federal level for their continued strong support."

The rankings are based on peer assessment (25 percent of the score); retention (20 percent); faculty resources (20 percent); student selectivity (15 percent); financial resources (10 percent); graduation rate performance (5 percent); and alumni giving rate (5 percent).

The university shares the 19th ranking with the University of Pittsburgh. The magazine also ranked Ohio State 57th among all national universities both public and private, in a tie with the University of Pittsburgh and Boston University, an improvement over its ranking of 60 in last year's poll.

The top 20 ranking is the second for Ohio State in less than one week. The university was named 16th among public universities in the 2nd annual "Washington Monthly College Guide," which measures how much a school is benefiting the country. When compared to all national universities both public and private, Ohio State placed 27th.

The Washington Monthly guide considers three indicators: how well a school performs as an engine of social mobility, its success in fostering scientific and humanistic research, and its achievements in promoting an ethic of service to the country. Scores include percentage of students enrolled in ROTC, the percentage of alumni currently serving in the Peace Corps; total research expenditures, and the percentage of students on Pell Grants, which is considered a measure of commitment to educating lower-income students.

The U.S. News & World Report ranking of Ohio State, which is based on 2005 statistics, notes improvement in several categories. The percentage of freshmen in the top 10 percent of their high school class increased from 34 to 39 percent, and freshman retention improved from 87 to 88 percent. (Freshman retention was below 80 percent in 1997.)

The continued improvement in freshman retention is due in large part to Ohio State's innovative First Year Experience (FYE) program, which U.S. News & World Report has listed for the fifth consecutive year as an outstanding example of a program that leads to student success.

In addition to overall institutional rankings, the magazine also annually ranks a small number of undergraduate programs in business and engineering. Among both private and public universities, Ohio State's Fisher College of Business remains 18th best in the nation. Among public universities, the program is rated 10th.

Among recent recognition of the university's enhanced academic standing, for the third straight year, Ohio State leads the country in the number of faculty named as "fellows" of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Earlier this year, 20 faculty from Ohio State were awarded the "fellow" rank within AAAS, the largest scientific organization in the world. In addition, the university was ranked 9th among public universities in the amount of its sponsored research, according to statistics compiled by the National Science Foundation.

Ohio State also ranks among the nation's best in fundraising. The university's endowment now exceeds $2 billion, ranked the 6th largest among public universities in 2005, and ranked 27th when private schools were included.

Founded in 1870, Ohio State University is a world-class public research university and the leading comprehensive teaching and research institution in the state of Ohio. With more than 50,500 students enrolled at its main Columbus campus, 17 colleges and 170 majors, the university offers its students tremendous breadth and depth of opportunity in the liberal arts, the sciences, and the professions
Posted by Pete Miller at 9:00 AM 0 comments Links to this post

Monday, August 14, 2006

Bonneville Speed Week Peaks Buckeye Bullet Interest

To all Buckeye Bullet Sponsors & Fans,
This is National Speed Week on the Bonneville Salt Flats. Our website, www.roadtobonneville.com is averaging 48 visits and 138 page views per day. Total visits are approaching 30,000 and page views total 84,958 since August 2004. The team's website www.buckeyebullet.com does not have a hit counter, but is certainly seeing similar numbers.
Buckeye Bullet Team Leaders are at Bonneville for meetings with BNI & SCTA officials paving the way to run the world's first hydrogen fuel cell powered land speed racing vehicle, Buckeye Bullet II, at National Speed Week 2007. The world's fastest electric car, Buckeye Bullet, has been retired from official land speed racing and will appear at Wired Magazine's NextFest in New York City from September 29-October 1st, 2006.
Dieselmax, a twin-diesel powered car driven by the world's fastest driver, Andy Green, is also increasing interest and publicity worldwide with an attempt to break the 300 MPH land speed record barrier. Andy Green holds the all-time land speed record of 763 MPH.
Bonneville Speed Week Results & Photos: http://scta-bni.org/Bonneville/Speedweek%2006/results.htm
Go Bucks! Go even faster!
Pete Miller
The Ohio State University Buckeye Bullet 2
The World's First Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Land Speed Racing Vehicle
The Ohio State University Buckeye Bullet
The World's Fastest Wheel Driven Electric Vehicle - 321MPH at Bonneville
US & International Land Speed Recorded Holder
www.RoadToBonneville.com
Posted by Pete Miller at 9:08 AM 0 comments Links to this post

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Buckeye Bullet Invited to Wall Street

To all Buckeye Bullet sponsors and fans,

The Ohio State University's national and international record-holding, Buckeye Bullet Student Land Speed Racing Vehicle will be on display from September 29th through October 1st, 2006 in the financial capital of the world, New York City.

The world's fastest electric car, the Buckeye Bullet, will take center stage in the Transportation Pavilion at Wired Magazine's NextFest Technology Worlds Fair, where Wall Street VIPs are expected to be among over 50,000 business, technology and financial executives to visit the show

This is a rare, world-class opportunity for The Ohio State University and all of its corporate partners to showcase the very best, student-generated, advanced research technology results to the world.

Buckeye Bullet student team members will accompany the Buckeye Bullet and talk about the car, their Bonneville experiences and about all of you who have made this student project a world-class success. The Buckeye Bullet students will also be available to meet with sponsors and their customers, university donors, alumni and potential Ohio State students.

National and international press coverage is planned. The 2005 NextFest show in Chicago generated its own TV program on Discovery Channel and over 300,000,000 media placements worldwide, many featuring the Buckeye Bullet.

Show information: Wired NextFest

Buckeye Bullet appearance: Contact David Cooke at cooke.76@osu.edu

Please forward this e-mail to your CEO, CFO, Treasurer, alumni, friends, family and everyone else who might benefit.

See you all on Wall Street!

Pete Miller
The Ohio State University Buckeye Bullet 2
Hydrogen Fuel-Cell Land Speed Racing Team
www.RoadToBonneville.com
Posted by Pete Miller at 11:18 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)