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'Sally' the EcoCar entry driving to victory in the Prototype Hydrogen Fuel-cell category. Stella Simpson -- supplied.

Stella Simpson could not have been more elated when the Faculty of Engineering's took first place in the Prototype Hydrogen Fuel-cell category on April 24 at the 2025 in Indianapolis. Throughout two terms, she had spent countless hours in the alongside fellow club members, contributing to the car's evolution from concept to a working prototype named Sally. It’s a remarkable accomplishment given that this third-year anthropology student has no prior experience in engineering. 

Breaking down barriers and taking on new challenges is something Simpson welcomes — and that includes bringing people to the table with diverse backgrounds and experiences. When she heard about EcoCar, an Engineering Student Project Group, from a friend on the team, she signed up right away.

“Being part of the EcoCar competition proved that passion, collaboration and resilience matter more than the title of your degree,” says Simpson, adding that she never felt like an outsider because it was a steep learning curve for everyone. “Innovation doesn’t belong to just one discipline. We were all just taking it step by step.”

EcoCar is a student project team within the faculty whose objective is to design and build ultra-efficient hydrogen fuel cell powered cars for participation in the annual Shell Eco-Marathon competition in Indianapolis — one of the world’s leading student engineering competitions.  

Under the supervision of and , everything from circuit boards to autonomous technology is developed by students, the majority of whom are from engineering programs. At the start of the year, explains Simpson, no one has assigned jobs (although many are returning members). One of her initial roles was promotional assistance via , photography and outreach. While this is still ongoing, she also took on a bigger role as a key member of the mechanical engineering team.

“The coolest thing is just being trained on all this equipment in Elko,” says Simpson, who now serves as their ‘go-to water jet cutter’, which can effortlessly slice through hard and soft materials. “Whenever something needs to be water jet cut, they message me and I'll come to campus,” she says. “I'm always available for them.

The competition itself ran less smoothly, hampered by inclement weather and almost daily rain. “It was a huge challenge,” she says. “The track had to be shut down early and we lost out on valuable testing and competition time. We had to do some quick thinking and problem-solving to come up with ways to deal with the water on the track, but for the most part our efficiency kept improving with each run we did.” Yet Sally triumphed, winning first place in the Prototype Hydrogen Fuel-cell category with an efficiency of 213km/m^3 of hydrogen.

“I'm incredibly proud of what the entire EcoCar team has accomplished. It has been one of the most meaningful experiences of my academic career.”

While Simpson’s involvement with EcoCar will continue next year, for now she is focused on completing her anthropology degree and is even considering a second degree in engineering. A particular area of interest is LiDAR technology (Light Detection and Ranging), a remote sensing technology that uses laser pulses to measure distances to objects or surfaces which is used to create 3D maps. It is a technology that is also used in engineering.

“I've always loved engineering and when I was in sixth grade, my class voted me the person most likely to work for NASA,” laughs Simpson. “Basically, I love science and the science aspect of archaeology. I see the connection between the two. Now that I have learned so much from this past year, I'm excited to apply my knowledge to our upcoming projects and help teach others.”

EcoCar gratefully acknowledges the following sponsors: Toyota Canada Inc., Faculty of Engineering, ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥, Tektronix, Swagelok Edmonton | Drayton | Fort McMurray, Solas and the Elko Engineering Garage.