New Location for ASMEs Human Powered Vehicle Challenge West Competition

New Location for ASMEs Human Powered Vehicle Challenge West Competition New Location for ASMEs Human Powered Vehicle Challenge West Competition Originally scheduled to take place at NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., the 2013 ASME Human Powered Vehicle Challenge West (HPVC West) competition from April 12-14 has been moved to San Jose, Calif. San Jose State University and nearby Hellyer County Park Velodrome are the new venues for the popular event, in which students put aerodynamically designed vehicles through speed and endurance tests on designated courses. The environmentally friendly pedal-powered prototypes will also be judged on maneuverability, practicality and design efficiency. The location of the competition had to be changed due to budget cuts at the space agency, which left NASA Ames unable to host the tournament. Teams from 28 schools - including four California State University branches - will compete during HPVC West event. The sprint race is scheduled for Friday evening, April 12, at the Hellyer County Park Velodrome, with the remaining events shifting to the campus of San Jose State University on April 13-14. Judges will award cash prizes - including an $800 top prize for the overall winning team - and trophies to the top teams in each category. In addition to teams from California State University's Chico, Fresno, Long Beach, and Northridge branches, five more student teams from California â€" representing California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; University of California, Berkeley; Santa Clara University; East Los Angeles College; San Jose State University â€" are scheduled to compete at HVPC West. Other U.S. universities scheduled to participate include Arizona State University; Brigham Young University; Colorado State University; Lamar University; Missouri University of Science and Technology; Missouri University of Science and Technology; Montana State University; Northern Arizona University; Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; the University of Arizona; the University of Montana; the University of Nevada, Reno; the University of Oklahoma, the University of Texas, Dallas; the University of Utah; and Utah State University. Two schools from outside the United States - Mexico's Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (ITESM) Campus Guadalajara and India's PEC University of Technology - will also compete in the three-day event. HPVC West is one of four HPVC events that ASME is organizing in 2013. HPVC Latin America was held in February, and HPVC East will be held April 26-28 at Ferris State University in Big Rapids, Mich. An HPVC India event is also being planned for December. For information on ASME's Human Powered Vehicle Challenge program, visit the information page here.