Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Promoting Sustainability on Campuses: A College Student Run, Electric-Assisted Bicycle Competition for High Schools
EPA Grant Number: SU833919Title: Promoting Sustainability on Campuses: A College Student Run, Electric-Assisted Bicycle Competition for High Schools
Investigators: Bates Prins, Samantha C. , Lintner, J. Patrick , Prins, Robert
Institution: James Madison University
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: August 15, 2008 through August 14, 2009
Project Amount: $10,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2008) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Challenge Area - Air Quality , Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
In order to increase awareness and use on college campuses of more sustainable forms of transportation, we proposed a project that would have students from across the college campus mentoring the college students of tomorrow, those in our high schools, to use more sustainable practices.
The primary objective of the project was to take the proven ideas behind the Society for Automotive Engineering competitions and Lego leagues and develop an annual electric-assisted bicycle competition for high school students that addresses commuter transportation, a sustainability issue of local and national importance. The secondary objective was to promote Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines in the high school population. Specifically, we proposed to bring together a group of undergraduate majors in Engineering, Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT), Secondary Education and Mathematics & Statistics at James Madison University (JMU) to develop an annual electric-assisted bicycle competition for high school students with both technical and mathematical components.
The specific objectives of this project were to:
- Conduct a survey that addressed the perceived limits to electric-assisted bicycles as a form of transportation and the desired features of such a bicycle in order to develop electric-assisted bicycles that appeal to high school and college students.
- Develop competition rules and design parameters that reflect currently available electric-assisted bicycle kits.
- Develop judging criteria that reflect the results of the survey and other factors.
- Produce a competition manual containing suggested designs and mathematical projects as well as background information on electric-assisted bicycles and Virginia Standards of Learning addressed by the competition.
- Run an internal competition to test the developed competition.
- Network with local high schools to determine interest in the developed competition.
Proposed Phase II Objectives and Strategies:
We propose to host the college student run electric-assisted bicycle competition designed in the Phase I project. In this first run of the competition, 4-5 local (to Harrisonburg, VA) high school teams will design an electric-assisted bicycle that they could potentially use in congested areas. The competition will have two main components: the technical component reflecting cost, ease of maintenance, range, acceleration, weight, top speed, and visual appearance of the built bicycle and the mathematical modeling component in which teams will use mathematics or statistics to analyze or test some aspect of the design experience or built bicycle. The overall competition awards (1st, 2nd and 3rd place) will be based on the weighted performance in the seven technical categories as well as the mathematical modeling component. We also intend to recognize team spirit, design innovation, and performance on a special course as part of the event.
- The research team would consist initially of undergraduates majoring in engineering, ISAT, mathematics and/or statistics, and secondary education. The research team would be charged with:
- Traveling to local high schools to advertise the competition (a road-show) using the bicycles built in Phase I project and promote alternative forms of transportation.
- Mentoring the participating high school teams in each component of the competition using onsite visits and/or e-mail contact as needed. This may include providing additional training in building the bicycles or in mathematical modeling.
- Developing and implementing an anonymous internal assessment of the competition in order to obtain feedback from student and high school faculty participants.
- Running the 1-day (9:00 a.m.‐4:00 p.m.) competition event on the JMU campus in mid-May 2010.
Due to the planned date of the competition (which was chosen to best suit the local high schools) being after the JMU spring semester concludes, the faculty members will be charged with updating the competition manual and format in response to the assessment feedback received. Faculty also will be charged with supervising the competition details.
The faculty advisors will identify JMU faculty and students in the College of Business and Arts & Letters interested in developing a "marketing component" that would involve high school art or marketing students being mentored by JMU students in similar disciplines to develop a marketing or awareness campaign for their team’s bicycle.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
Margaret Beckom received course credit for working with Dr. S. Bates Prins (with Dr. S. Garren, Professor in the Department of Mathematics & Statistics at JMU as co-advisor on the course credit) in designing and implementing a survey of JMU undergraduate and graduate students to:
Determine the transportation patterns of James Madison University students,
Determine the features that James Madison University students would require of an electric-assisted bicycle,
Quantify the judging criteria for a high school electric-assisted bicycle competition
The survey was designed and implemented using the Qualtrics Web-based software. A bulk e-mail was sent to all students enrolled in fall 2008. The 802 students that responded are representative of the JMU student population in terms of both gender and class standing. There were 33.9 percent of respondents who used a car, motorbike, or scooter on campus or to campus. The full survey instrument and a paper describing the survey design, analysis, potential sources of bias, and the full set of results are available at http://www.math.jmu.edu/~prinssc/P3-EAB/results.shtml.
Based on the responses, 73.9 percent of all commuters would be willing to use an electric-assisted bicycle on campus or for commuting purposes if an electric-assisted bicycle with their desired features and cost was available and only 16 percent of these potential users were aware that electric-assisted bicycles were available for use. The latter result suggests that an awareness campaign (such as the high school competition) is needed.
Only responses from those willing to use an electric-assisted bicycle on campus or for commuting purposes were used to quantify the judging criteria. Cost, reliability, and lifetime of the battery before replacement were the most important features listed and were followed in importance by time between battery charges and weight. The ranges of cost and weight that respondents desired are unrealistic with current battery technology. This suggested cost and weight be used as judging criteria.
The mathematics and statistics team members created example projects for the mathematical component of the competition. These can be completed at a basic, intermediate or advanced level on calculators commonly used in high schools. These example projects are included in the draft competition manual.
Our math education team member, Lianne Loizou, determined the list of Virginia Standards of Learning addressed by the proposed competition. The technical team explored available electric-assisted bicycle technology. The existing options for bike conversions were categorized as follows: hub driven kits, chain driven kits and non-kit based chain driven designs. The relative advantages and disadvantages of each approach are related to the degree of construction difficulty and the projected learning outcomes of each. In general, the hub driven kit bikes are simple to assemble but may not present enough of a challenge to engage students. On the other hand, building a chain drive conversion form individual components may prove to be too much of a challenge and result in frustration. Each high school team will need to assess its own capabilities and commitment level in deciding which conversion project to do.
The technical team members have created and documented one of each of the conversion categories: hub driven kit, chain driven kit, and non-kit chain driven design. These projects represent escalating levels of difficulty. The build diaries of each of these projects are included in the draft competition manual. We expect the competition manual will provide assistance participants in their choice of conversion category, conversion design and performance estimates, base bicycle selection and preparation, as well as the conversion process itself.
In response to the results of the survey the research team members have generated a scoring scheme for use at the competition based on eight categories: range, acceleration, top speed, budget, ease of maintenance, weight, visual appearance, and mathematical modeling. The first three categories will require “dynamic” testing on a closed course. The remaining categories can be evaluated without operating the bike. In determining the winner of the “Overall Award”, these eight categories will be weighted. The weights for the first seven categories were determined using the average rankings of these features in the survey of JMU students. The budget category will assess the most important feature of cost and this is given the most weight. All other weights are relative to this. The mathematical modeling component is given equal weight to budget.
In addition to the overall award, we intend to recognize four teams based on their mathematical modeling project, team spirit, design innovation, and the results of a “performance challenge” that will be unveiled during the competition. Details related to competition scoring will be included in the draft competition manual.Conclusions:
The need for the competition is clear with respect to two areas: awareness of alternatives for commuter transportation and increasing involvement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The survey of JMU students revealed a lack of awareness of electric-assisted bicycles as a form of transportation but a high indicated willingness to use these bicycles. An event that brings together college students in STEM disciplines with high school students would seem to foster increased involvement in STEM.
Due to the cost of electric-assisted bicycle kits (or components of) and the current financial situation at local high schools, teams involved in at least the first year of the competition should be given (free-of-charge) one electric-assisted bicycle kit of a chain or hub variety, along with a selection of bicycle tools.
The current draft of the competition manual includes:
- An introduction to electric-assisted bicycles, including Internet resources.
- A planning guide to assist participants in selecting the type of conversion they wish to complete.
- An approach to estimating the performance of a bike design.
- An introduction to bicycle maintenance, including tire changes, wheel bearing rebuild, bottom bracket rebuild, and steering head rebuild.
- A general description of the competition, including the two competition components: design and mathematical modeling.
- Competition rules.
- Suggested design projects at basic, intermediate, and advanced levels (“build diaries”).
- Suggested mathematical modeling projects at basic, intermediate, and advanced levels.
- Scoring description for each component of the competition and the overall competition.
- List of Virginia Standards of Learning addressed by the competition.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 2 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
STEM, commuter transportation, K‐12,Relevant Websites:
http://www.math.jmu.edu/~prinssc/P3‐EAB/
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.