Clarkson University Excels in SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge

Clarkson University student teams participate in various college engineering design competitions through the University's SPEED (Students Projects for Engineering Experience and Design) Program. These competitions provide hands-on learning experiences, allowing students to apply their engineering knowledge in real-world scenarios while fostering teamwork, innovation, and problem-solving skills. Through the SPEED Program, Clarkson students continue to demonstrate their engineering expertise and commitment to excellence in design and innovation. The SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge is an engineering design competition that pushes students to reengineer snowmobiles to reduce emissions and noise without sacrificing performance. Competing snowmobiles are tested in various categories such as emissions, noise, fuel economy, endurance, acceleration, handling, cold start, and design. The goal is to create an environmentally friendly snowmobile suitable for use in sensitive areas like National Parks. These redesigned snowmobiles must be quiet, emit fewer unburned hydrocarbons, be cost-effective, and provide a comfortable ride, all while primarily functioning as touring snowmobiles on groomed trails.

While modern snowmobiles already meet noise and emission standards, the challenge encourages teams to implement innovative solutions that further enhance performance.

There are two categories in the Internal Combustion classification-gasoline and diesel. For the past eight years, the Clarkson team competed in the diesel category, achieving great success. However, with SAE's decision to eliminate the diesel class in 2025, the Clarkson team has transitioned back to the gasoline division and entered the newly established hybrid category.

During the 2024 spring semester, the competition returned to the Keweenaw Research Center at Michigan Tech. Clarkson's team placed 8th overall, with notable finishes in the Technical Presentation (4th), Objective Handling (5th), and Noise (5th) categories.

Pictured Left to right: Ben Larivee, Henry Swift, Nick Marsh, Brandon O'Neill, Patrick McCabe, Jessie Kavanagh, Josh Segal, Tucker Gabriel, Jeff Hansen, Mike Hewey, Eric Wirger, Zachary Lutzke