Kansas State University’s Wildcat Wind Power team repeated as the winner of the 2023 Collegiate Wind Competition, a U.S. Department of Energy event in Boulder, Colorado, May 15-19.
The K-State group entered the competition as the defending champion after winning for the first time in club history in 2022. The team members battled 11 other schools to win the yearlong national competition where they designed, built and tested their model wind turbines throughout the academic year before presenting and testing their models in a wind tunnel at the event.
Brianna Wagoner, team president and May 2023 graduate in electrical engineering, Kansas City, Missouri, said the team members put in countless hours throughout the year to make repeating as champions possible.
“I am so proud of this team for the hard work and long hours put toward our win,” she said. “Our ability to think innovatively and learn from our failures was the key to our success.”
The competition is divided into four contests that test the skills of the team on its ability to create a viable model, but the competition also rates the team’s design and presentation skills, its ability to design an offshore wind farm and its effectiveness in wind-related outreach. In addition to placing first overall, K-State won the turbine testing and connection creation competitions.
Matt O’Keefe, dean of the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering and LeRoy C. and Aileen H. Paslay chair in engineering at K-State, said the team had done an admirable job representing both the college and the university.
“We are proud of the efforts of the Wildcat Wind Power team, both this weekend and all year long as they prepared for this competition,” O’Keefe said. “This event is designed to provide hands-on learning and inspiration for the next generation of innovators in wind power, and these results reflect an extremely bright future for this group.”
Members of Wildcat Wind Power include the following students:
Phillip Shirkey, junior in mechanical engineering, Concordia; Jose Rodriguez Millan, senior in mechanical engineering, Dodge City; Kent Deterding, junior in electrical engineering, Kansas City; Levi Francis, sophomore in finance, Lansing; and Cameron Million, sophomore in electrical engineering, Minneola.
From Olathe: Israel Barraza, junior in civil engineering; Michael Brosseit, May 2023 graduate in electrical engineering; Jakob Long, senior in construction science and management; Joshua Pell, junior in marketing; and Nick Saia, senior in civil engineering.
Jacob Ronnekamp, junior in mechanical engineering, and Rebecca Semple, senior in mechanical engineering, both from Overland Park; Andy Freshnock, senior in computer engineering, Prairie Village; David Pierson, senior in electrical engineering, Sabetha; and Josh Meurer, May 2023 graduate in mechanical engineering, Shawnee.
From out of state: Jacob Lowe, senior in mechanical engineering, Frederick, Colorado; David Ochner, senior in electrical engineering, Evans, Georgia; Macie Sexten, junior in electrical engineering, Columbia, Missouri; and Joseph Lilley, sophomore in electrical engineering, and Brianna Wagoner, May 2023 graduate in electrical engineering, both from Kansas City, Missouri.
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K-State photo: Wildcat Wind Power team members pose with their awards after taking first place for the second consecutive year at the 2023 Collegiate Wind Competition. From left: Cameron Million, Michael Brosseit, Israel Barraza, Andy Freshnock, Jacob Ronnekamp, Brianna Wagoner, David Pierson, Jacob Lowe, Rebecca Semple, Jakob Long, Jose Rodriguez, Macie Sexten, Josh Meurer, Nick Saia and Kent Deterding.
