DRIVE TIME: FORMULA SAE WEST STUDENT ENGINEERS MASTER WINNING RACE-CAR FORMULA.

Byline: MUHAMMED EL-HASAN

Staff Writer

FONTANA -- While studying engineering at Texas A&M University, Mike Stewart and a group of other students designed and built a Formula race car.

The low-to-the-ground vehicle with open tires and a rear engine won Stewart's team rookie of the year at the Formula SAE competition in Detroit in 1999.

Stewart, an engineer working at Honeywell Transportation Systems in Torrance, credits that college experience with launching his dream of working in motorsports engineering.

"You learn (about) people, cost and deadlines, and motorsports especially is about rapid deadlines," Stewart said.

Eight years later, the Redondo Beach resident again is involved in the Society of Automotive Engineers event. This time, he is closer to home.

This week, Stewart and about 250 other employees from about 75 companies have volunteered at Fontana's California Speedway for the Formula SAE West, the Southern California version of a student vehicle competition that attracts students from across the globe.

This is the second year in a row the Golden State has hosted a Formula SAE competition, joining Detroit, Australia, Brazil, Italy and the United Kingdom as an annual venue.

At the Fontana event, hundreds of competing students from some 60 universities attended from as far away as China, India and Venezuela.

For automotive companies, the competition of engineering skill serves as a valuable chance to see the work of engineering students firsthand, and possibly recruit them for jobs or internships.

"It's a good place to make contact with some really high-potential engineering students," said Gerald LaRue, an engineer at Honeywell, which sent about 25 volunteers to help organize and judge the event. "All the big companies will send their senior people. . . and it's like, 'Hey, this kid is real smart. Let's get his r(hrt)sum(hrt)."'

Not all the student engineers brought their r(hrt)sum(hrt)s.

Rachel Nichols, an engineering student at California State University, Northridge, stood next to her team's black race car.

Nichols, 23, designed and made the vehicle's low-weight carbon-fiber frame. She turned to Swift Engineering, a San Clemente engineering firm, for donations of carbon fiber. In the process, Nichols impressed the company enough to gain an internship that began in January.

Two weeks ago, she took a full-time job at the firm.

The event's value is more than just the intense concentration of engineering students in a single area. Companies can see the results of the students' work firsthand.

"Here when you see these cars, we call it a rolling r(hrt)sum(hrt)," said Dean Case, a vice president at Torrance-based RWB, a marketing firm that helped organize the event. "They prove they can design a car on time (and) on budget."

Tony Chukuka, a human resources professional at Torrance-based Toyota Motor Sales USA, attended the event in search of prospective employees for the carmaker. In an interview, Chukuka sounded like a college recruiter discussing high school applicants.

"We like students with balance who show leadership, like (participation in) student organizations and also have a good GPA," Chukuka said.

Zackary White, a Toyota product engineer, said he was there to answer students' questions.

"My main focus for being out here is trying to be a resource for students," White said. "Trying to let them know what they can expect day to day there to let them see if Toyota is a fit for them. Just like we want to see if they are a fit for Toyota. It's kind of a two-way street."

The larger Detroit competition is dominated by General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. The West Coast version started as a way to allow other companies such as Toyota and Honeywell to gain greater exposure at the competition.

"It was important for us to get in, especially on the West Coast, sort of to be the leader," Chukuka said.

Beyond the enhanced opportunities for matching students with prospective employers, Formula SAE West represents another feather in the cap of Southern California's automotive industry. The region is home to major automotive operations and numerous vehicle design centers. Toyota's U.S. sales and marketing operations are based in Torrance. Honda's North American headquarters are in the same South Bay city.

Southern California seemed to have gained added cachet in the auto industry over the past year. In May, Honda opened a new Acura design center in Torrance. Last year, Honda opened a Pasadena studio to focus on advanced design concepts.

Also last year, the Los Angeles Auto Show pushed up its schedule to avoid conflicting with the more established car show in Detroit. As a result, the Los Angeles show saw its stature rise with a record number of vehicle world debuts.

muhammed.el-hasan(at)dailybreeze.com

Formula SAE West facts

The first Formula SAE event occurred in 1981 in Texas.

More than 300 schools compete in Formula SAE worldwide each year.

At the Fontana event, prizes differed depending on the competition, with a $3,000 prize for the overall winner and eight free tires for the winner of the autocross speed competition.

University of California, San Diego, sent an all-female team to the Fontana event this year.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) The entry from California State University, Northridge, gets looked over in the pit area at the Formula SAE West at the California Speedway in Fontana on Thursday.

(2 -- color) CSUN engineering student Rachel Nichols, center, talks about composite technology with Jason Frick, left, and faculty adviser Stewart Prince at the Formula SAE West competition.

(3 -- color) An entry from Brazil performs a braking test at the Formula SAE West, being held at the California Speedway in Fontana through today. The event brings in teams of engineering students who have designed and built Formula-style cars with motorcycle engines for a competition of engineering skill.

Robert Casillas/Staff Photographer

Box:

Formula SAE West facts (see text)