The Ohio State University Wins Challenge X "Crossover to Model-Based Design" Award from the MathWorks

Business Wire, May 22, 2008

The MathWorks Also Announces Support for EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge

NATICK, Mass. -- The MathWorks today announced that its "Crossover to Model-Based Design" Award for the final year of Challenge X has been presented to a team of student engineers from The Ohio State University. The students were honored for their exceptional achievements in creating, simulating, and analyzing models for vehicle design and subsystem control using Model-Based Design with MathWorks tools.

Challenge X, a four-year student engineering competition that explored vehicle solutions aimed at reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions, involved 17 student teams, each representing a North American university or college. The teams reengineered a General Motors (GM) Chevrolet Equinox to minimize energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining the vehicle's utility and performance. During the first year of the challenge, the teams focused on modeling, simulating, and testing the vehicle powertrain and subsystems selected by each school. Over the next three years teams focused on the development and integration of advanced powertrain and subsystems. Using Model-Based Design with MathWorks tools was an essential component of each team's strategy to meet the challenge.

Last year's award winner, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Terre Haute, IN), won second place; University of Waterloo (Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) placed third.

"We decided to use year four of the competition to take a hard look at what we could improve upon from last year," said Giorgio Rizzoni, team advisor for Ohio State. "Using MATLAB, Simulink, and Model-Based Design, the team was able to refine its control strategy and improve the overall performance of the vehicle."

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and GM recently announced the successor to Challenge X--EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge. This three-year competition kicks off in the summer with 16 student teams working to design vehicles that reduce petroleum consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and demonstrate real-world performance of a range of technology options. The technologies explored in EcoCAR mirror those being investigated by the automotive industry.

About The MathWorks

The MathWorks is the world's leading developer of technical computing and Model-Based Design software for engineers and scientists in industry, government, and education. With an extensive product set based on MATLAB and Simulink, The MathWorks provides software and services to solve challenging problems and accelerate innovation in automotive, aerospace, communications, financial services, biotechnology, electronics, instrumentation, process, and other industries.

The MathWorks was founded in 1984 and employs more than 1,900 people worldwide, with headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts. For additional information, visit www.mathworks.com.

About Challenge X and EcoCAR

For more information about the Challenge X and EcoCAR student competitions, visit these Web sites: www.challengex.org and www.ecocarchallenge.org.

(c) 2008 The MathWorks, Inc. MATLAB and Simulink are registered trademarks of The MathWorks, Inc. See www.mathworks.com/trademarks for a list of additional trademarks. Other product or brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.