To anyone in, or working with, student chapter of SAE: New Scholarship!

If you are in your student chapter of SAE, or if you work with the student chapter at your local school, please share this info with your teammates / classmates / students:

As some of you know, I am one of the in-car instructors in the Applied Vehicle Dynamics seminar for the Society of Automotive Engineers.  In March of 2022, our Chief in-car instructor, Tom McCready, passed away unexpectedly.  To honor Tom's legacy and further his love of vehicle dynamics, the SAE has created the Tom McCready Memorial Annual Scholarship, which awards one all-expense-paid trip to the SAE Applied Vehicle Dynamics seminar.

Here is the link to the SAE page detailing the eligibility requirements and application process:

https://www.sae.org/learn/tom-mccready-memorial-annual-scholarship

HINT:  Scroll to the bottom of that page to find the application form.

NOTE:  Deadline to apply for this year's scholarship is Jan 30th.

And here is what the SAE had to say about my long-time friend and colleague Tom:

[quote]

Tom McCready was a cornerstone of SAE International’s Applied Vehicle Dynamics seminar from its inception in 2004. Tom fused his love of getting behind the wheel with his vehicle dynamics degree from GMI Engineering and Management Institute to create the 12 driving exercises that comprise the seminar. His passion for the seminar never waned during his 15 years as lead driving instructor, giving his all to each student that took the course. More than 500 participants were fortunate enough to have him riding in the passenger’s seat as they connected the dots between vehicle dynamics theory and its practical applications. After a drive, the participants would often hear Tom ask, “So, what did you learn?”

While Tom humbly represented SAE when the seminar received IACET’s Innovation of the Year Award for Learner Engagement in 2015, his regular visits to the top of the instructor’s podium during each class-wide autocross competition made him smile just a little bit wider.

[/quote]

and here's what was in the most recent SAE Automotive Engineering Magazine:

I'm going to bump this thread every day until the application deadline has passed.  I will try to make the bumps relevant.

Bump 1: here's a GRM thread from a couple years ago discussing the Applied Vehicle Dynamics seminar from a GRM (not specifically automotive engineering) perspective.

Angry,

Does a person have to be involved with FSAE to take part in the training? As a high school driver educator I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to increase my skill set and knowledge base. There are no Master's Degrees in high school DE.

Thanks 

vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) said:

Des a person have to be involved with FSAE to take part in the training. As a high school driver educator I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to increase my skill set and knowledge base. There are no Master's Degrees in high school DE.

You definitely do not have to be an educator to take this class. It's probably 2/3 auto industry Engineering type folks but we get a lot of crash investigators and marketing people and legal department types. It's not a driving seminar. Our primary focus is how to relate the math and science behind vehicle dynamics to the actual operating behavior of the vehicle, as told through the eyes of the tires. We spend about 50% of the time in the classroom discussing a topic, then 50% of the time driving through maneuvers that are specifically set up to demonstrate the topic we just discussed.

I loved doing FSAE. I did it 20 years ago now, but I met one of my best friends (who I also worked more than half my career with) while I was doing it.

I also appreciate it because I learned that I didn't want to turn my fun hobby into my job. But I learned a lot about hands-on engineering and I'm very happy with what I wound up doing with my career due to what all I learned in FSAE.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) said:

Des a person have to be involved with FSAE to take part in the training. As a high school driver educator I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to increase my skill set and knowledge base. There are no Master's Degrees in high school DE.

You definitely do not have to be an educator to take this class. It's probably 2/3 auto industry Engineering type folks but we get a lot of crash investigators and marketing people and legal department types. It's not a driving seminar. Our primary focus is how to relate the math and science behind vehicle dynamics to the actual operating behavior of the vehicle, as told through the eyes of the tires. We spend about 50% of the time in the classroom discussing a topic, then 50% of the time driving through maneuvers that are specifically set up to demonstrate the topic we just discussed.

So do you think it would be a waste of my time? I have to do professional development to maintain my license and going to the same DE workshops over and over gets routine and boring. One thing I'm thinking is in response to the age old question students always ask about, "how am I ever gonna use this?"

But also any insight into what's going on at the contact patch sounds interesting and useful to me.

In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :

sorry i missed this question the other day.  here's the syllabus.  After we define stable vs unstable tire slip on the morning of day 1, we come back to that definition in every learning module.  What happens when we exceed mu peak?  what happens when we are in stable braking and we ask for a half-G cornering? etc etc.  So if part of your teaching includes what's happening where the rubber meets the road, then i definitely think this seminar will be helpful to your teaching.

DAY ONE

• Longitudinal Slip and Weight Transfer
  • Defining vehicle dynamics and longitudinal slip
  • Longitudinal mu-slip relationship
  • Principles of longitudinal weight transfer
  • Friction circle concept
  • Driving exercise - orientation
• Fundamentals of Straight-Line Braking
  • What do braking systems do?
  • How does each of the components contribute?
  • What are the underlying fundamental relationships?
  • Driving exercise - limit braking
• Slip Angle and Transient Response
  • Slip angle and cornering stiffness
  • High-speed steering and transient response
  • Lateral weight transfer
  • Driving exercise - lane change
• Braking Stability
  • Rear brake proportioning fundamentals
  • Braking stability
  • Rear brake proportioning in practice
  • Driving exercise - brake in a turn

DAY TWO

• Steady-State Cornering
  • The understeer gradient
  • Components of the USG
  • Driving exercise - Graphing the USG
• Combining Lateral and Longitudinal Slip
  • Braking in a turn, turning while braking
  • Drive-off in a turn, turning during drive-off
  • Driving exercise - Avoidance maneuver
• Anti-Lock Brake Systems
  • Stability, steerability, and stopping distance
  • Objectives and strategies of ABS
  • ABS performance
  • Driving exercise - Avoidance maneuver
• Electronic Stability Control
  • Objectives and limitations of ESC
  • ESC detection and countermeasures
  • ESC performance
  • Driving exercise - Wet skidpad

DAY THREE

• Test Procedure Selection
  • Defining terms and concepts
  • Test circuit overview
  • Driving exercise - Baseline path
• Test Procedure Sensitivity
  • Defining the apex
  • Driving the friction circle
  • Driving exercise - Path variation
• Test Vehicle Sensitivity
  • Brief USG review
  • Impact of tire pressure adjustments
  • Driving exercise - Low pressure evaluation
• Comparison Vehicle Evaluation
  • Comparison vehicle overview
  • Driving exercise - Lapping in comparison vehicle
• Learning Assessment

In reply to AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) :

I can see where a lot of that has applications for informing my lesson plans. Whether in car or in classroom. The ABS section looks good.

Is there a different link for the seminar with how to go about signing up, where and when?

In reply to vwcorvette (Forum Supporter) :

Ask and ye shall receive:

https://www.sae.org/learn/content/c0414/