[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 78 (Thursday, June 2, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1026]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            RECOGNIZING THE POTENTIAL OF AMERICAN INNOVATION

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CHAKA FATTAH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 2, 2011

  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw the attention of the 
House to a recent column published in The Philadelphia Inquirer 
describing the accomplishments of West Philadelphia High School's 
Hybrid X Team.
  This team of students from an urban high school recently shared the 
winners' circle of the Green Grand Prix with the Chevy Volt. The Hybrid 
X Team's continued success provides a clear example of what's at stake 
in our current Appropriations considerations and the future of the 
economy. Simply put, when we invest in these innovative areas of our 
economy, the education and research that bring about new discoveries, 
technologies and processes, we are securing shared prosperity for 
ourselves and our posterity. If, instead, we shirk our responsibilities 
to young inventors and shortchange the early research that makes new 
inventions possible, we are conceding defeat in the global race to 
innovate.
  I encourage my colleagues to review this article and to consider the 
importance--and the possibilities--of a robust, innovation-minded 
economic policy.

            [From the Philadelphia Inquirer, Jun. 1, 2011.]

    Driver's Seat: Local Team Wins Honors for Fuel-Efficient Vehicle

                           (By Scott Sturgis)

       Great moments in engineering don't always come from 
     multinational corporations with multizillion-dollar budgets.
       Sometimes the feats come from hardworking young people--and 
     perhaps a mentor or four. That's just how one of the most 
     fuel-efficient vehicles in the world was built right here, in 
     West Philadelphia, and how the West Philly Hybrid X Team won 
     not one but two national awards for two separate automotive 
     projects this spring.
       Simon Hauger, electrical engineer turned high school 
     teacher turned consultant, is the power behind the 15-student 
     team from West Philadelphia High School. He formed the group 
     13 years ago and has led students through a variety of 
     projects creating fuel-efficient automobiles, usually on a 
     budget that automakers might put into a new hubcap.
       Hauger had the chance to visit with the head of Ford's 
     technology division a few years back and, while touring with 
     the students, posed a question.
       ``I said, `Why aren't you pursuing this' '' type of extreme 
     fuel efficiency? Hauger said. ``His answer: `We're waiting to 
     see where the market goes.' ''
       Fortunately, the country has leaders like the West Philly 
     students and teachers--working with Hauger and the students 
     are full-time volunteer Ann Cohen and West Philadelphia High 
     shop teachers Ron Preiss and Jerry DiLossi. And giving them 
     incentive are the Sports Car Club of America and the Conrad 
     Foundation, organizers of competitions such as the Green 
     Grand Prix and the Spirit of Innovation Competition, 
     respectively.
       Green Grand Prix: At the end of this competition, the team 
     shared the winners' circle with the Chevrolet Volt at Watkins 
     Glen International Speedway in New York as the most efficient 
     vehicles in their classes. Now in its sixth year, the Green 
     Grand Prix is billed as the only road rally for alternative-
     fuel vehicles in the United States.
       The Factory Five GTM used in the competition had been part 
     of the group's 2010 Automotive X Prize challenge, but didn't 
     win. The team did some reworking of the vehicle, and it's now 
     powered by a Volkswagen TDI engine running on biodiesel 
     coupled with a hybrid system. It averaged more than 100 
     m.p.g., the highest mileage among nonelectric vehicles in the 
     100-mile test. ``That's real fuel economy from a real car 
     from an inner-city high school with no budget,'' Hauger said. 
     The group does have sponsorship, though not as much now as 
     when it was competing for the X Prize. Now the main sponsors 
     are International Battery in Allentown and Edison2, the 
     company that won the X Prize. Funding also comes through 
     Philadelphia Academies Inc., which as a nonprofit that works 
     with Philadelphia schools can handle small donations and 
     administer their funding.
       Hauger said the team had a ``moderate budget'' for the X 
     Prize competition. Now, he said, ``we are back to no-budget, 
     totally shoestring funding. In fact, we all have been 
     blacklisted from the local blood banks.'' Although the car 
     was up against vehicles with engines sporting three or fewer 
     cylinders, the West Philly team had the advantage on the old-
     style NASCAR track--its members could fly through the hairpin 
     turns and coast up a small hill. And the six-speed 
     transmission allowed the car to stay barely above idle to run 
     45 to 50 m.p.h.
       ``The speed happened to be the absolute ideal speed for 
     us,'' Hauger said. ``The car was driving at its most optimal 
     point.''
       The event drew 45 competitors--from the Chevy Volt and GM's 
     fuel cell-powered SUV to homemade three-wheelers powered by 
     industrial lawn-mower engines and everything in between. Four 
     teams from the Automotive X Prize showed up, so they were 
     competitors the West Philly teams had seen before.
       ``It was kind of like a grudge match,'' Hauger said.
       Spirit of Innovation: This contest limited entry to five 
     members of the team, who designed a business plan around the 
     Electric Very Light car, which is still in the production 
     stage.
       More than 100 entrants from the United States and Britain 
     entered the competition, and 35 teams were chosen as 
     finalists. Twelve to 15 teams competed in the Cyber 
     technology energy-efficiency category against West Philly.
       Led by new West Philadelphia science teacher Paul Holt as 
     coach, the local team members went to California to give 
     their presentation for 15 minutes and answer questions for 
     another 15.
       ``It was kind of brutal,'' Hauger said.

                          ____________________