How does 1,265 miles to the gallon sound for you next car? You won't get that gas mileage from a Toyota or Chevy, but a few new NIU alumni might be able to set you up.
Four engineering technology alumni, who graduated in May, finished third at the Society of Automotive Engineers International Supermileage Competition, an international competition where teams try to get the most mileage from a single gallon of gas, on June 11. Their car was the top American entry in the competition.
Despite the success, there were long odds for the team. The group had never tackled a super-high-mileage car before and were going up against schools and teams with years of experience in the contest. Lack of experience wasn't the only concern. The team's car cost only $7,000, a fraction of what many of the other teams sunk into their vehicles.
“The odds were completely against us because we were going up against teams that have been around for a while, and we got third place. We couldn’t be happier. It was definitely a great experience,” said team member Patrick Galloway in an NIU press release.
Congrats to the entire team, Joe Monteleone, Austin Ray, Charlie Ruetsche and Galloway, and the College of Engineering and Engineering Technology! Go Huskies!
Wow, we received a great response to our Huskie Pride photo contest. We received more than a dozen photos for the competition, all of them great examples of the pride our alumni have in Northern Illinois University.
The NIU Alumni Association staff looked over the entries and have picked our three finalists. Congratulations to Paul Slowick, Missy Gillis and Steven and Jen Hauhe for having our three finalist photos. You can view previews of the images below.
Make sure you
vote for your favorite finalist, voting ends on July 31 with the winner being announced in our August eNewsletter.