From L to R: Nathan Ruhl, Angel Dimitrov, Carl Ferrario, and Emanouel Milanov holding the championship trophy and certificates awarding wins in individual categories. – Irvine California 4/7/16.

A team of Mechanical, Materials, and Aerospace Engineering (MMAE) engineers won the 2015-’16 National Fluid Power Association (formerly sponsored by Parker Hannifin) Chainless Challenge this past week in Irvine, Calif. This was Illinois Tech’s fifth year in the competition and its first overall victory. In addition to winning the overall competition, the students won first place in Reliability and Safety, Cost Analysis, Innovation, and the Time Trial. During the time trial, the students set an all-time record for the fastest average speed. The Illinois Tech team consisted of undergraduate MMAE students Carl Ferrario, Emanouel Milanov, Angel Dimitrov, and Nathan Ruhl.

The Illinois Tech hydraulically powered bicycle for the 2015-16 Parker Hannifin Chainless Challenge Competition. – Irvine, California 4/6/16.

Their accomplishments netted the team around $7,000 in award money, some of which goes directly to the students. The competition took place between April 6 and 7. Fellow competitors included Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, University of Illinois Champaign Urbana, Western Michigan, University of Akron, Purdue, Cleveland State, and University of Cincinnati. Students interested in competing next year should contact Matthew Spenko (mspenko@iit.edu).