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Photo Story - Nittany Motorsports

Nittany Motorsports low voltage subsystem team members work late at night developing and troubleshooting code for vehicle modules.
Nittany Motorsports low voltage subsystem team members work late at night developing and troubleshooting code for vehicle modules.
Nittany Motorsports team member works on the team's car while another sits close joking with others in the shop.
Nittany Motorsports team member works on the team's car while another sits close joking with others in the shop.
Nittany Motorsports team members work to secure a marker and brake light to the chassis of the car. One works to hold the pieces in place, while the other installs fastening hardware.
Nittany Motorsports team members work to secure a marker and brake light to the chassis of the car. One works to hold the pieces in place, while the other installs fastening hardware.
Front suspension on the Nittany Motorsports FSAE car. Aside from fasteners, ball joints, shock absorbers, and springs, all suspension components are conceptualized, designed, and produced by students on the team.
Front suspension on the Nittany Motorsports FSAE car. Aside from fasteners, ball joints, shock absorbers, and springs, all suspension components are conceptualized, designed, and produced by students on the team.
Nittany Motorsports team member reviews and refines the car's battery management system PCB layout. Great care must be taken in the design of such boards to avoid unwanted interference between signals present on the board.
Nittany Motorsports team member reviews and refines the car's battery management system PCB layout. Great care must be taken in the design of such boards to avoid unwanted interference between signals present on the board.
Nittany Motorsports team members review a connector's pinout before crimping pins on wires and pinning connectors. The pinout is determined by the designer of the circuit board based on various electrical and physical constraints.
Nittany Motorsports team members review a connector's pinout before crimping pins on wires and pinning connectors. The pinout is determined by the designer of the circuit board based on various electrical and physical constraints.
Low voltage subsystem members work together to make multiple cuts of wire the same length for creating a wiring harness.
Low voltage subsystem members work together to make multiple cuts of wire the same length for creating a wiring harness.
Nittany Motorsports low voltage subsystem member works on pinning a connector to create a wiring harness for the team's car. All pins must be in the correct location on the connector to avoid system malfunctions or damage.
Nittany Motorsports low voltage subsystem member works on pinning a connector to create a wiring harness for the team's car. All pins must be in the correct location on the connector to avoid system malfunctions or damage.
Nittany Motorsports team members from a variety of subsystems taking a break to enjoy some discussion and the warm sunny weather. On nice days the garage door is left open to fill the shop with natural light and fresh air.
Nittany Motorsports team members from a variety of subsystems taking a break to enjoy some discussion and the warm sunny weather. On nice days the garage door is left open to fill the shop with natural light and fresh air.
A display of accolades won by Nittany Motorsports spanning 20+ years, along with the club's engagement fair poster.
A display of accolades won by Nittany Motorsports spanning 20+ years, along with the club's engagement fair poster.

Sometimes, students learn more outside of the classroom. In the case of Nittany Motorsports, Penn State University’s Formula SAE club, members learn valuable skills when it comes to working on large multi-group projects. Every year, the team builds a race car to compete in the annual international FSAE competition against other schools from all over the world. The main competition is based on vehicle performance, but there are plenty of award categories not strictly tied to the vehicle’s performance on the track. Nearly every part on the car is either designed or sourced by students involved in the club, and is largely funded by corporate sponsors.

The club is divided into several “subsystems”, each focusing on a particular area of expertise. Subsystems include Chassis, Suspension, Brakes and Control, Low Voltage Electronics, High Voltage Electronics, Aerodynamics, Drivetrain, Outreach, and Finance. During my time photographing the team in the shop, Low Voltage Electronics members were almost always present, either working on code on their computers, or working on a part of the car itself. Even with the ever growing use of high voltage electronics with electric vehicles, low voltage electronics on cars continue to grow in usage- responsible for just about everything on a car. Think body control module, radio, lighting, anti-theft, and gauge cluster.