A motorized vehicle designed, built, and operated by Mississippi State mechanical engineering majors was among the top university entries completing the 1999 Mini-Baja Midwest competition in June.

Of almost 100 schools taking part, MSU won first place in the design report and ninth overall at the Society of Automotive Engineers International-sponsored event in Troy, Ohio.

Mechanical engineering professor Bill Jones prepares to test drive the vehicle built by students for the Society of Automotive Engineers Mini-Baja competition. Mechanical engineering students Aaron Massengill, left, and Richard Hosch were members of the building team.

A local favorite, the University of Akron, was the overall winner, followed closely by Brazil's Centro Federal de Educacao Tecnologica de Minas and the Ecole de Technologie Superieure in Montreal, Canada.

"The SAE Mini-Baja provides engineering students from throughout the world the opportunity to design, build, and test an off-road vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain," said mechanical engineering professor Bill Jones, Mississippi State's student SAE chapter adviser. "The competition offers students real-world lessons in project management, teamwork, communication, design, and manufacturing."

Identical 8-horsepower engines propel each vehicle. The student teams are responsible for constructing the rest, using both customized stock parts and parts they design and manufacture themselves.

Ten members of the chapter worked on the project.

This year's entry in the competition was the seventh for MSU, but only the second this decade. The university's 1998 vehicle finished 14th in a field of about 90.

True Temper of Amory, HMC Technology of New Albany, Marine Gears of Greenville, and Trane Co. of Memphis, Tenn., were MSU team sponsors.