Each year, thousands of students worldwide participate in Formula SAE, a college competition where teams of engineering students design, build, and race formula-style vehicles. The competition is structured around static events aimed at rewarding the best design, manufacturing methods, or business presentation, and dynamic events which reward practical performance like acceleration, skid pad, autocross, and endurance. Each of these challenges students to learn and develop their engineering skills and improve their business, strategic thinking, and professional communication to prepare them best for the enterprise world. As a result, alumni from these programs often end up joining leading companies in the field like Red Bull Racing, McLaren, SpaceX, or Ford, bringing with them the technical skill, grit, and resilience developed from long and passionate working hours spent improving and tweaking their designs.

The 2024 winner of the Formula SAE Michigan Internal Combustion Competition was Ohio State’s FSAE team Formula Buckeyes, who won against 120 other competing universities. The victory gave the team momentum to continue their project, and they're now working to build their first-ever electric vehicle race car. Several reasons motivated this pivot to electrification, among which stand sustainability, interest in solving the current EV challenges, and joining the worldwide trends of the electrification of professional motorsports, from Formula E to hybrid F1 platforms.

This transition was no small feat. It required technical innovation and support in the form of fundraising and sponsorship. That’s where the team’s business sub-group has stepped up, helping to expand the team’s footprint across campus and the surrounding community, securing new partners, and rallying support from industry leaders.

Diabatix was proud and happy to help the students by granting them access to ColdStream, its generative thermal design platform. ColdStream empowered and helped the engineers to design thermal solutions for their car. Whether managing battery temperatures in an EV platform or fine-tuning airflow in internal combustion systems, Diabatix's generative approach helps teams unlock performance gains while reducing material use and energy waste.

The impact of this kind of support extends far beyond the track. It gives students direct access to industry-grade tools and real-world problem-solving experiences, turning theory into tangible results. It’s collaborations like this that make the dreams of building the fastest—and most innovative—FSAE cars in North America a reality.‍

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