Mae Jemison High School students make greenpower car, invest in the future of manufacturing

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - The question is: how do you get students interested in their future and exploring a field of advanced manufacturing? One of the answers is getting them behind the wheel of a race car.

Chris Whaley teaches Advanced Manufacturing and a Greenpower USA class at Mae Jemison High School. The Greenpower USA program allows students to put their skills of digital modeling, 3-D printing and working with tools to great use like designing and building their own race car.

“Not only doing the design end of things, they also get the hands-on experience of working with power tools and hand tools, doing carbon-fiber composite lay-ups,” Whaley said.

“It’s fun and really like rewarding, getting to see the physical thing that you just did in the computer come to life,” Mae Jemison student David Rubio-Lopez said.

Fresh off of a win last month in Hazel Green, they plan to race again at Calhoun Community College’s Decatur campus at the Aerospace training center on Friday.

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