High school students experience hands-on on automotive engineering first hand at Camp CAR

Last week, the Center for Automotive Research along with the Honda-Ohio State Partnership hosted 24 high school students at Camp CAR, a weeklong summer day camp where participants learned about various aspects of automotive engineering and mobility including simulation, testing and manufacturing.

Camp CAR brought high school students from the Columbus area, around Ohio and across the country to Ohio State, and included tours of the Transportation Research Center Inc. and the Rahal Racing Headquarters.

“I’ve really enjoyed getting the exposure to all of the automotive technology,” said Krishna Choppara, a student at Olentangy Liberty High School. “The fact that I got to come to CAR and see all the different things they are doing from self-driving cars to motorsports is very exciting. Not only that but at Camp you’re surrounded by people just as interested in cars as you are so it’s not just the stuff but also the people who really stimulate you to push yourself.”

Honda hosted Camp CAR at their 99P facility where the campers learned about software engineering, experienced augmented reality and got to check out the Meraki concept car, a collaborative project between 99P and Columbus College of Art and Design.

“99P was a fun experience,” said Anderson Davis, a Columbus Academy student. “There were lots of cool activities ranging from the fully automated bus all the way to putting together cars in an assembly line.”

The high school students got their hands dirty in the Scott Lab Machine Shop where they learned about different manufacturing processes and got to learn how to use some of the equipment.

The eager group of future engineers learned about automotive engineering that is safer and more efficient, as well as automated and connected vehicles that can communicate with city infrastructure and even drive themselves, navigating complex urban and highway traffic.

“This past week has been a blast,” said Patrick Wang, a student at Dublin Jerome High School. “I really enjoyed learning about the future of the automotive industry, especially all the technological developments made regarding autonomous vehicles. Out of all the features, I found the most interesting to be the connected network, where everyone and everything on the road, even the traffic lights, can communicate with each other. “

Camp CAR is an annual summer program for participants aged 14-18. Applications for the 2022 camp will be available at car.osu.edu in the spring of 2022.