About Us

Formula Slug was founded in 2015 at University of California, Santa Cruz. The team competes every other year in Formula SAE, a student design competition organized by SAE International. The design series is geared toward university-level automotive engineering projects, including an electric division, FSAE Electric.

Formula Slug consists of two primary departments: mechanical and electrical. Our electrical department works on everything powered by electricity or controlled by software. The electrical department’s role is to design, build, and write software for our custom battery management system, design custom boards for every part of the car from the brake lights to the engine control unit, and integrate these systems together in a real-world embedded environment. Our mechanical department uses the principles of vehicle dynamics to design a racecar that is performant within the target objectives while also being compliant with the Formula SAE rules and standards. Our mechanical department is unique in that UC Santa Cruz does not currently have an academic department or major for mechanical engineering, so our team lacks the formal support from classes and faculty.

Despite these challenges, Formula Slug has successfully built two racecars for the Formula SAE Electric competition, FS-0 and FS-1. Currently, we are in the design stages of our third race-car, FS-2. Throughout the 2020-2021 academic year, we hope to construct the frame and components of our car, then test and finalize our design to be ready for the 2021 competition season.

About FSAE

Formula SAE is a design competition run by SAE International which focuses on promoting problem solving and teamwork for the next generation of engineers. The judging strongly focuses on engineering processes and how teams effectively utilize resources and past experiences.

FSAE teams design, build, and test a Formula-style racecar prototype which is then evaluated for its potential as a production item. The teams must meet a series of competition rules and standards whose purpose is to ensure onsite event operations and promote clever problem solving. In competition, the vehicle is inspected in a series of tests to ensure compliance with competition rules and safety regulations as well as test the overall performance of the vehicle. The judging is completed by experts from motorsports, automotive, aerospace and supplier industries on student design, cost, and sales presentations.

Core Values

Autonomy

In Formula Slug, each member of our team has the power to make an impact. Though our team has a president, we operate on more of a cooperative basis, where everyone’s opinions and ideas are valued. We believe that this allows members of the club to practice their leadership skills while also having the flexibility to explore different areas of interest on our project.

Sustainability

Our team strives to create and utilize practices for long-term sustainability, both environmentally and as an ever-growing and changing team. We opted to take on FSAE Electric to support the development of sustainable energy transportation. We practice sustainability in a number of ways, the greatest of which is recycling materials from nearby companies and sponsors, and reusing materials from our older car models. As a student-run club, one of Formula Slug’s main goals is to create sustainable organizational and leadership practices so we can continue to provide the same great opportunities for the future students of UC Santa Cruz. Additionally, we aim to support the transition of students who intend to work in the sustainable energy industry after graduating.

Trust

Trust is one of the biggest components of Formula Slug, and is what makes growing and continuing our club possible. We build trust through transparent communication methods between all members of our team, delegating work evenly amongst our team, and providing safe and inclusive learning and teaching environments.