Engineering students at the University of New Mexico dedicate late nights and weekends to an unusual classroom: workshops filled with electric race cars, sleek solar-powered boats, and rockets built to soar high above the desert skies.
These aren’t just ordinary class projects—they are intense competitions demanding skill, innovation, and resilience from everyone involved.
UNM’s Mechanical Engineering Program has embraced a distinctive approach to learning, instead of traditional lectures and textbook assignments. Students immerse themselves fully in ambitious, year-long efforts to build sophisticated machines to not only put their engineering abilities to the test but also prepare them for real-world careers.
The university’s standout program, LOBO Motorsports, offers students the chance to design, build, and race a Formula SAE-style electric vehicle. With the leadership of Professor John Russell, students work as if they’re running a professional racing team.
Under the said program, students meticulously refine every detail of a race car, from the vehicle’s lightweight frame to its battery management system, with the ultimate goal of competing internationally. And this year’s LOBO Motorsports team faced rigorous testing at the Formula SAE competition.
Despite intense pressure, the students successfully passed their crucial battery safety inspection within 1 minute 45 seconds—just 15 seconds shy of the two-minute maximum required by judges. That seemingly small margin represented countless hours of focused preparation and collaborative troubleshooting.
Students like Tim Crepeau find the program’s demands beneficial far beyond the racetrack. After participating in LOBO Motorsports, Crepeau secured an internship at Sandia National Laboratories and now plans to pursue graduate studies at UNM. His experience demonstrates how real-world problem-solving skills translate directly into career opportunities.
UNM’s engineering excellence extends far beyond racing. Its team known as UNM Solar Splash won the World Championship of Collegiate Solar Boating. Students designed a solar-powered vessel, elegantly named “Unaltered Carbon” for its carbon-fiber construction. The design earned first place for its outstanding performance in speed, agility, and innovative electrical system design.
Competing since 2016, the Solar Splash team has consistently delivered strong performances, showcasing the ingenuity and practical skills students gain through the rigorous preparation required for global competition.
Another challenging program at UNM, called Lobo Launch, puts aspiring aerospace engineers to the test. Students in this course design, build, and launch rockets in competitions such as the International Rocket Engineering Competition held annually in Texas.
The latest team overcame an unexpected parachute failure during flight, yet still outperformed rival teams from neighboring universities. While rockets sometimes exploded or crashed—destroying nearly $30,000 in test equipment—the program teaches students essential lessons about perseverance, adaptability, and the real-world importance of learning from setbacks.
These success stories tells a clear picture: application of lessons learned from classroom lectures and assignments in real-life scenarios can directly lead to student success.
As demonstrated by UNM graduates who have built successful careers at leading companies (some alumni have even landed highly respected positions in top-tier organizations), this approach provide a tangible advantage that students gain by confronting challenges head-on, pushing their abilities to the limit, and learning from both failure and success.
These accomplishments show the real benefits students gain from tackling tough projects. By learning how to deal with setbacks, adapt quickly, and keep pushing through challenges, students develop valuable skills beyond technical knowledge.
Through consistent support from private sponsors, donors, and the university itself, students in these capstone projects are being equipped not only with technical skills but with confidence, teamwork, and resilience.