Old Dominion University represented their hometown excellently on the course and off. Not only have they improved their craft to complete the race even faster, but they helped visiting teams in numerous ways as acknowledged by their spirit award. On the water, the team quickly put their heads together to solve an overheating motor—the solution: wet socks repeatedly applying seawater to the outside. Off the water, the team jumped into action the night before PEP 23 to provide possible equipment to teams in need. The ingenuity and generosity displayed by this team show a team well positioned to continue to grow and flourish.Congratulations on creating a growing team that can leverage industry to achieve remarkable engineering feats!

Old Dominion published an article detailing their successes. Click here to read it.
Learn more about the ODU ASNE Chapter, and contact them directly using the ASNE Tidewater leadership list.

Time: 4.75 miles in 25:29

The mighty, dedicated ODU team improved on their 2021 competition with an exciting second place finish in 2022. The team worked hard to upgrade this design while also supporting other ODU teams competing in two other engineering competitions. This foundational understanding of taking the challenge, designing a solution, improving upon those designs iteratively has served the ODU teammates well for the last couple of years. Their ability to collaborate within their team and across the PEP community is a special quality that greatly strengthens our future and their professional skills.

We are so excited to bring the PEP competition to their backyard in 2023. We know that the strong community that supports this team, for Dr. Jovanovich and Dr. Dean to Mr. Kosteczko and the entire Tidewater section, will continue to help this team grow and thrive. See you in Portsmouth!

To support this ASNE section/PEP Team, see their website or contact the team directly.

Presentation before PEP Competition

The Old Dominion team included a couple teams providing input to a final sprint of design and testing. The race-day team of Neil St. Clare and Daniel Erdogan had an engineering-filled day where they demonstrated their grit, ingenuity, and resolve to reach the finish line. It was clear to ASNE members that Neil is a natural engineer—his confidence and training were on full display during the race as the team dealt with the final race-day issues. Daniel's heart, determination, and engineering skills were evident at each step of the design, documentation, and race-day preparation.

After trailering the boat up from Tidewater, the ODU team figured out that a controller was damaged in transit. Because they left so early in the morning, they had time to identify a local vendor, make the trip to their location, and work with them to modify the controller so it fit within their craft. In the midst of the race-delaying storm, Daniel was wrapped in a tarp working with a flashlight to repair their craft. These efforts paid off greatly! The craft was easy to control, finished the race with plenty of battery to spare, and looks primed for next year’s competition.

A key resource for the team was Andi McClusker and Fairlead Integrated. This industry connection, the general support of the Flagship division, and Daniel’s continued leadership of the team ensure that this effort is in good hands for the upcoming school year and the 2022 competition.