“As teenagers, we have a broader creative imagination to come up with seemingly impossible alternatives for sustainability.”
Senior Sekou Kamara of West Philadelphia High School made no qualms about his group’s so-far success in the National X Prize competition when he spoke to Saint Joseph’s University last Tuesday.
Peers Darmell Bailey, Alexis Bland, and Justin Clarke are only four of 20 students from West Philadelphia High School and Philadelphia’s Automotive Academy participating in the national $10 million contest to build a car with 100 mpg, costing $20,000 or less.
Having first received recognition for an electric go-cart at a local science fair almost 11 years ago, the team has since made it to the first, second, and third and final round of the contest.
They have also surpassed universities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology and are the only remaining high school team left in the competition.
So what are these creative alternatives that not even one of the top ranking technological universities could come up with? In addition to a lighter engine—taken from a Harley Davidson—and regenerative breaking, the cars are equipped with IM phosphate batteries, biobeutenol fuel tests, custom axels, stream line body reconstruction and two pound batteries.
With these and other energy saving parts, the team has made a Ford Focus hybrid and a GTM hybrid (recently featured at the Philly Car Show), thus proving that sustainable cars come in all shapes, sizes and luxuries.
The Automotive Academy students have received national recognition in Philadelphia’s Daily News, on the Today Show and through college presentations across the country. Yet despite the stardom, the team still faces serious obstacles.
“We have raised almost $300,000 from state and private grants,” said West Philly leader, mentor, and St. Joe’s alum Kathleen Radebaugh, ’08. “We are currently $40,000 in debt and estimate that it will cost $250,000 total to stay in the competition.”
Even at a school whose annual spending per student is less than $12,000, the cash prize is not the main goal for the West Philadelphia students.
“We are looking forward to something new in the world of high school education: project-based learning,” said Kamara. “We have had a taste of it this year and want this hands-on motivation for all high school students.”
If they were to win, Hybrid Team X would use the $10 million to build a school with plentiful resources to continue this kind of interactive learning. It would be there for students who want to be a part of something outside the classroom.
All that’s left for in order for the students to win is building their car, finalizing their business plan, and turning in their application by next spring. No biggie. If magazine Popular Mechanics is any indicator of their chances, West Philadelphia is pegged to be in the top-ten contestants.
Radebaugh, who has worked, coached, and sweated alongside her students, is proud of their accomplishments and anxiously looks forward to the final stage.
More information and ways to donate to Hybrid X can be found at www.evxteam.org.