"Buggy" is a sport that is unique to Carnegie Mellon. Students design and construct carbon fiber racing vehicles throughout the year and race them in a relay race around the back of the campus during the school's spring carnival weekend. Drivers squeeze into the tiny buggies and steer while pushers propel them up two steep hills.

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As a buggy mechanic my top priority was driver safety. The buggies can reach up to 35 mph on the downhill portion of the race so safety precautions and checks were paramount. Our team worked tirelessly to maintain and inspect the fleet of buggies while designing new buggies with improved safety features. As a mechanic I also helped with the design and construction of future vehicles. During my time at CMU I helped design the body of the vehicle in CAD, did carbon fiber layups, designed part of the braking system, and helped develop methods of assembling the wheels minutes before the race (giving us the advantage of pre-treating the wheels up to the second the race started).

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As a graduate student I continued my involvement with Buggy, advising a team of undergraduates that had been given a grant to explore new safety techniques. My role as an advisor was to serve as a mentor to the younger students, lead meetings and discussions around brake systems, and lead classes in CAD and FEA to students with little to no experience in SolidWorks.

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Buggy was a huge part of my college experience and showed me what was possible when passionate people get together and create something amazing. My wife and I have begun mentoring current CMU students by leading seminars on SolidWorks optimization and best practices to help improve future Buggy designs.