When Penn Electric Racing‘s REV11 car completed the endurance event at this year’s Formula SAE Electric competition, many team members were in tears.
“The finish marked more than the end of a race,” says Arjun Sharma, Operations Lead at Penn Electric Racing (PER). “It was a visible reminder of how far Penn Electric Racing has come, and how much this achievement meant to everyone who has worked to bring the team to this point.”
Competing against 108 teams, Penn Electric Racing finished 15th overall while earning first place in the Business Presentation event, the GM Excellence in Technical Innovation Award and the Cummins Sustainable Power and Performance Excellence Award. The team also placed sixth in the Design Finals, which was the highest finish among Ivy League schools.
These awards represent their participation in both dynamic racing events and static events that evaluate engineering design, business strategy, manufacturing decisions, cost analysis and technical communication.
Judges evaluated everything from the engineering decisions behind REV11 and the data supporting its design to PER’s innovative sponsorship strategy, sustainable engineering practices and operational systems. The results demonstrated that the team’s success went beyond building a fast race car, it reflected a program capable of combining innovation, technical rigor and long-term organizational excellence.
