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Electric Sports Car Receives RecognitionTesla Engineer JB Straubel Named Innovator of the Year
JB Straubel of Tesla Motors was named innovator of the year by the Technology Review for his work on the electric sports car Roadster.
The selection was made as part of Technology Review's annual choice of "35 innovators under 35" and was featured in the magazine's October issue.
A Revolutionary Electric Sports Car The Roadster is Tesla Motors' electric sports car. Powered 100% on electricity, it burns no oil, and can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3.9 seconds. The Roadster has a carbon-fiber exterior and aluminum frame to keep it lightweight. Although the design is based from those of British automaker Lotus, Straubel and his colleagues were responsible for the car's electronic controls, electric moter, and battery pack. This enables the Roadster with fast acceleration- giving it a quicker start than most gas-powered cars. The battery pack of the Roadster (its "fuel tank") stores enough energy for the vehicle to travel about 220 miles without recharging. Not only that, it is also recyclable. The motor of the Roadster is a mere 115 pounds and about the size of a watermelon. The single-speed gearbox enables low drag and fuel efficiency of a manual transmission while providing the driving ease of an automatic. There is only one forward speed and no clutch pedal- the driver just moves the shift lever and the Power Electronics Module takes care of the rest. JB Straubel- Innovative EngineerAt the young age of 32, Straubel is the chief technical officer (CTO) and co-founder of Tesla Motors. He oversees the technical and engineering design of the cars, and also is involved in new technology evaluation, R&D, and systems validation testing. Before creating Tesla Motors, Strauber was the co-founder of Volacom, an aerospace firm, where he designed a specialized high-altitude electric aircraft platform using a novel power plant. There, he developed and patented a hybrid electric propulsion concept that was later licensed to Boeing. Strauber's passion seems to be span a wide variety of transportation vehicles- especially those powered by electricity. He also built an electric Porsche 944 that held a world EV racing record, a custom electric bicycle, and a pioneering hybrid trailer system. He claims that his fascination with energy work and electric vehicles started at the of 14, when he discovered a discarded electric golf cart and decided to rebuild it. 35 Under 35Straubel was just one of the 35 selected by the Technology Review. The choice of 35 under 35 (TR35) is based on accomplishments as researchers, inventors, or entrepreneurs in diverse fields- ranging from biotechnology to software, hardware, and the Internet. The selection is made by a panel of judges comprised mainly of academics from around the world as well as business people in venture and technology companies. The Technology ReviewThe Technology Review is a publication of Technology Review Inc., an independent media company owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Established in 1899, it is the oldest technology magazine in the world.
The copyright of the article Electric Sports Car Receives Recognition in Sports/Custom/Classic Cars is owned by D. Yvette Wohn. Permission to republish Electric Sports Car Receives Recognition in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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