September 8, 2008
ABET Accreditation
Policy
By Shiraz Ahmad, Senior CECS
Upon entering Speed School, many of you were
informed that you were embarking upon a five-year long
mission to receive an accredited Master’s degree in the
engineering field of your choice. It was also made clear
that, without completion of the five year program, it would
not be possible to obtain an accredited degree. This was
due to the regulation enforced by the Accreditation Board
for Engineering and Technology (ABET) disallowing dual
-accreditations on the graduate and undergraduate levels.
This has been a great point of contention over the years for
Speed School faculty and students alike.
In order to receive accreditation at the graduate
level, it is a prequisite that the University's undergrad
programs also meet the requirements set forth by ABET.
Why then should dual accreditation not be granted? This
was precisely the question set forth by several influential
Engineering organizations, including the National
Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the American Society
of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Due to rising interest in this
subject, the debate was brought before and voted on by
ABET this past Spring.
Sudoku:
Which will you choose?
Easier
Edited By: Brian Goessling
Email: speednews@speedcouncil.org
As of March 28th, 2008, ABET revoked the ban on
dual accreditation. According to Dean Mickey Wilhelm,
this means that as soon as ABET awards Speed School
accreditation for its undergraduate programs students who
have received B.S. degrees up to one year prior will also
retroactively receive accredited B.S degrees in their major.
Dual accreditation will be implemented during the 2009-
2010 school year. The Dean has requested that Speed
School be granted accreditation for its Bachelor's degrees
without a formal visit from ABET, due to the prior
accreditation of our Masters programs. If ABET chooses
to require a formal evaluation, then a team will be sent in
Fall 2009 and a formal decision will be made by the
Engineering Accreditation Commission in July 2010.
So, for those students who will graduate post 2008,
a new door presents itself. Speed School students who
wish to complete school at the undergraduate level will
have the opportunity to do so without the looming
prospect of an unaccredited degree. And even if you intend
to continue on the Masters track, it will be of benefit when
applying to companies who look for accredited
undergraduate degrees. ABET's new policy, once
enforced, will serve as a great benefit to both current and
future Speed School students. ■
Harder
 SAE 2008
Baja Team
Taken from UofL Baja SAE 2008 Year in Review

The 2008 UofL Baja SAE team undertook a huge challenge

this year. Not only were we low in members, but we also
pursued radically different designs for our vehicle. New
concepts in the chassis, suspension, drive train, and
steering systems made this the most innovative vehicle to
come out of our shop. In addition to innovation, the fit and
finish of this year’s vehicle is unrivaled by any other SAE
vehicle from UofL.
Our program and success would not have been possible
this year had it not been for your tremendous support. This
year especially our sponsors really came through for us.
Past contributors such as the Speed School of Engineering,
Cummins, O’Neal Steel and BAE Systems continued their
contributions. Numerous new contributors such as Cardinal
Aluminum, Podium 1, TW Metals, Holley, Ryder, Suicide would. Our vehicle was faster than several of the top 10
Doors.com, Machine Concepts, and W.C. Simms Co. joined schools, yet it didn’t last. While approaching the apex of a
the effort as well. turn, another car approached our vehicle from behind and
Tennessee hit our left rear wheel. The impact sent our car into a tree,
Unfortunately we were unable to compete at the event in which sheared a rod end off a steering upright, popped the
Tennessee this year. A lack of manpower didn’t allow for welds in our steering box, and removed the left rear tire
the flotation and propulsion systems to be fabricated and from its wheel. The repairs needed to fix these problems
tested in time. However our design report was graded, and took us out of the race for nearly two hours, yet we were still
we were 13th out of 95 schools. able to finish 11 out of 28 possible laps. Even with the
Illinois disaster in the endurance race, we still finished 37th.
Our first attended competition of the year started with a 2009 Season
bang, but ended in frustration. The highlight of this With the lessons learned from the 2008 season, we are
competition was our vehicle design. After the report and extremely excited about our chances for the coming
presentation, we ranked 12th in overall design out of 118 season. We plan to optimize our already outstanding
schools. However weather and mechanical problems in our suspension and driveline, as well as take out weight from all
drive train system kept us out of contention in the dynamic subsystems. With these changes as well as extensive
events. Our one ray of hope was to finish the endurance testing and recruitment, Top 10 finishes at each competition
race, where half of your points come from. A missing $.38 are very real possibilities. ■
retaining ring in our drive shafts took us out on the second
lap. Even with all these problems, we managed to scrape
together a respectable 62nd place.
Montreal
We knew heading up to Montreal that we had the chance to
do something special. Our drive train issues were SWE General Meeting
completely worked out through thorough testing and we had What: Society of Women Engineers General
a much better idea of what our vehicle was capable of. Out Body Meeting
of the 122 schools at the competition, we finished 25th in Date: September 9, 2008 (Tuesday)
overall design, and 11th overall in dynamic events Time: 12:30 to 1:00
(Acceleration, Land Maneuverability, Suspension & Location: VOGT 314
Traction, and Log Pull). Heading into the endurance race
we were 15th overall. All we had to do was put up a good
result in the 4 hour long race and we would reach our goal
of a top 10 finish. For the first 3 laps it appeared as if we

Student Council Events

Due to a class in the JS Auditorium, Student Council will be holding weekly meetings in Vogt 311. Student Council
Meetings run from 12:20 PM to 1 PM on Thursdays. Arriving late or leaving early (especially for classes) is
acceptable. Those interested in joining are encouraged to attend.

More information can be found at the Student Council website, www.speedcouncil.org, or by visiting the Council
Office in JS 105.