Jack Anderson's senior project: A drivetrain for a Formula SAE racecar

Engineering Design Projects (ES 100), the capstone course at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), challenges seniors to engineer a creative solution to a real-world problem.

Integration and Optimization of Harvard's FSAE Drivetrain

Jack Anderson, S.B. ‘26, Mechanical Engineering

Advisor: Tony Paganis

• Please give a brief summary of your project.

This is a continuation of several other Harvard Formula-style racecar projects for a competition organized by SAE International, which was previously known as the Society of Automotive Engineers. I worked on mounting the engine and then verifying the engine brackets so they wouldn't fail under the load of the engine, as well as picking out and purchasing the differential, mounting the differential onto the frame, and then translating the motion from the engine all the way to the rear wheel through the axle.

• What’s the future of the project?

Hopefully, we're going to get this car running. It doesn't look like much now, but over the course of the end of this year and next year, we want to have this thing moving. We want to have it powered by its own engine, and we want to start entering races towards the end of next year. 

• What did you learn, or skills did you gain, through this project?

One of the reasons I decided to choose this project is I wanted to learn about racecars. I'm a fan of racing, so I wanted to learn the process of how you build, test and verify what these cars are doing. I got to learn how to weld. It was a super awesome experience to work with all the staff at the Harvard machine shop, and it was really learning a ton about the process and learning a ton about racing.