Southern Polytechnic State University's Supermileage Team claimed fourth place overall at the recent Society of Automotive Engineers Supermileage Competition at the Eaton Corporation Proving Grounds in Marshall, Michigan. For the second consecutive year, the team also brought home the Best Design Proposal Award.

More than 150 engineering students representing 25 universities from the U.S., Canada and Mexico participated in the event. The event challenges students to set world fuel economy records while getting experience in design and fabrication. Teams are required to design and build a one-person, fuel-efficient vehicle based on a small four-cycle engine. Teams were judged in two categories: performance run and vehicle design. The Southern Polytechnic squad finished with a top run of 472 miles per gallon.

"I am very proud of this group," said Millard Davis, a professor in the Mechanical Engineering Technology department of Southern Polytechnic who traveled with the team. "This is only the team's second national competition and both years we have achieved recognition."

The team created and designed their vehicle last year and finished it in early June, just before the national competition. This year's team members included Team Captain Lee Childers, Jin Lee, Sandra Wooten, Chris Higgins, Robert Scheitlin and Billy Rice. In their debut last season, the SPSU team took 13^th place with 136.79 miles per gallon, and copped the Best Design Award. Last fall, the team was recognized by the Georgia State Transportation Board.

With the rising cost of fuel and concerns about the environment, Davis sees this type of competition as extremely timely.

"What these students are doing is very topical - trying to come up with ways to conserve energy. I think Americans are starting to change their mindset about being stewards of our energy resources," he said.