Join Ohio State EcoCAR

Ohio State EcoCAR is a team of more than 50 students competing in the EcoCAR Innovation Challenge on a 2026 Jeep Cherokee hybrid. Members can join any subteam, all majors are welcome, and no experience is required.

Weekly Meetings

Sundays9 am – 1 pm

Mondays6 – 8 pm

Where

Ohio State Center for Automotive Research
930 Kinnear Rd, Columbus, OH 43212

Questions

Andrew Polta, Project Manager
polta.6@osu.edu

What Members Do

Engineer a Vehicle: Work on the 2026 Jeep Cherokee hybrid: high-voltage energy storage, powertrain control, and off-road performance.
Compete Nationally: Present the team's work to EcoCAR organizers and industry judges at competition events, against 19 other North American universities.
Learn From Mentors: Graduate and senior students mentor newer members, and engineers work alongside students in communications, business, and project management.

Fall 2026

Inside the Team

A team member walks new members through a battery pack at the Center for Automotive Research — A battery pack walkthrough at the first meeting.

Members gathered in the team garage — New members tour the garage.

A training session on CAD and BOM procedures — New-member CAD training: design a mechanical keyboard in three weeks.

Team members at the EcoCAR Innovation Challenge recruiting table — Recruiting at the Involvement Fair.

Subteams

Choose the subteam that interests you most when you request to join. You can change it later.

Technical

Engineering work on the Cherokee: requirements, hardware, controls, and the high-voltage battery.

Vehicle Systems Engineering (VSE)

Vehicle requirements, system architecture, and verification across subsystems.

Vehicle Hardware and Integration (VHI)

Mechanical and electrical integration of new components into the Cherokee.

Propulsion Controls Modeling (PCM)

Propulsion system modeling and simulation and control software development.

High Voltage Battery (HVB)

High-voltage energy storage: pack design, safety, and integration.

Non-Technical

Project management, communications, and product innovation. Open to every major.

Project Management (PM)

Schedules, budgets, documentation, and team operations.

Product Innovation Track (PIT)

The competition's product innovation track: customer research and a product concept beyond the vehicle.

Marketing and Communications (MarCom)

Brand, social media, outreach events, sponsor relations, and competition communications deliverables.

How to Join

Request to Join

Fill out the short form with your name, OSU email, and the subteam you're interested in, and choose a password.

An Admin Approves

A team admin reviews your request and approves your account in the member portal.

Ready to Join?

Requests are reviewed by a team admin. Questions first? Use the contact page.