Our Team

About Our Team

Cornell Baja SAE Racing is an engineering project team that annually designs, builds, and races an All-Terrain Vehicle to compete in the SAE Collegiate Baja Design Series every year. Founded in 2003 by a group of mechanical engineers who wanted to bring their acquired engineering skills to the race track, Cornell Baja SAE Racing has grown to encourage and support hands-on engineering and project-based learning for over 50 students from a diverse collection of majors. Comprising six subteams, students from all majors and schools of Cornell work together to ensure that team operations run smoothly, whether constructing the car, reaching out to sponsors, or racing during competition. Competing across the country, we value each one of our team members, as none of our success would be possible without each member’s hard work as a cohesive unit.

6

subteams

14

different majors

50

percent women

47

members

6

subteams

14

different majors

50

percent women

47

members

Team Leads

Brady Barnett

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering '22

Miriam Levesque

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering '22

Aidan Meehan

Civil & Environmental Engineering '22

Drivetrain Subteam

The drivetrain subteam designs and manufactures the vehicle's custom continuously variable transmission (CVT), gearbox, driveshafts, and wheel hubs. Component design is driven by extensive structural and thermal analysis that is validated with an engine dynamometer and on-car telemetry systems. With all vehicles in the competition limited to a 10 HP engine, a focus is placed on designing for reliability and power efficiency.

Kathleen Sternkopf

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '23

Kyra Graeb

Electrical & Computer Eng '23

Ethan Wood-Thomas

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '23

Artemiy Naumenkov

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '24

Calvin Johnson

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '23

Eugene Jeong

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '23

Austin Townsend

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '23

Chris Boodram

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '24

Ben Collins

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '22

Austin Stasko

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '22

Grace Sluzynski

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '22

Suspension Subteam

The suspension subteam is responsible for defining and achieving the desired handling characteristics of the car. The suspension constraints in a Baja car are unique to off-roading in that it must be able to tackle uneven rocks, logs, jumps, and hairpin turns. Through the design and manufacturing of custom linkages, ball joints and steering racks, as well as custom tuning of the springs and dampers, the suspension subteam is able to ensure that the vehicle maneuvers as needed with minimal driver effort.

Keaton Haug

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '23

Bennet Varrichione

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '22

Nils Coffey

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '22

Philip Ackerman

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '24

Jessica Benitez

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '21

Frances Lee

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '22

Oren Steingarten

Chemical Engineering '24

Owen Louis

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '23

Arnav Tapadia

Physics '24

Peter Swaak

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '23

Ini Adeleye

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '23

Oliver Sandiford

Environmental Eng '23

Chendan Luo

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '22

Frame Subteam

The frame subteam is tasked with designing and manufacturing the roll cage and main structure of the Baja car, creating a safe, protective barrier between our driver and the harsh obstacles of the course. The frame must attach all of the other components of the car through a solid foundation.

Phoebe Hart

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '23

Jeena Park

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '21

Kesekoseah Mauro

Engineering '24

Bastien Bakker

Engineering '24

Gabriel Fuchs

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '24

Brakes Subteam

The brakes subteam designs and manufactures custom master cylinders, rotors, and calipers. Design constraints are determined through on-car testing and a custom dynamometer, which are used to create a reliable, effective, and easy to maintain system.

Bryan Fuchs

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '23

Glen Passow

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '23

Ivy Young

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '23

Julia Kochersperger

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '23

Ergonomics Subteam

The composites and ergonomics subteam designs and builds the seat, steering wheel and body panels, with a focus on human centered design and materials testing.

Puja Oak

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '24

Lee Brunco

Design Environmental Analysis '22

Ryan O'Malley

Design Environmental Analysis '22

Chloe Chen

Design Environmental Analysis '23

Ini Adeleye

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '23

Business Subteam

The business subteam acts as the liaison between the team and the Cornell community. We are responsible for recruiting new team members at the beginning of each semester, compiling a cost report for the competition, conducting purchases for the team, contacting alumni, corporations, and members of the community for sponsorships, designing and distributing public relations material, planning team travel, designing apparel, and maintaining the team website.

Jade Meyer

Information Science '23

Michael Grossman

Urban & Regional Studies '22

Sommer Hogan

Hotel Administration '22

Tristan Wilkes

Operations Research & Eng '23

Hannah Murray

Dyson AEM '24

Darius McCullough

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '24

Ben Cytrynbaum

Hotel Administration '24

Directors

Calvin, the Team Director, oversees completion and quality of components and ensures proper workflow and process. Ben, the Onboarding Director, oversees knowledge transfer and ensures everyone on team is learning as well as having their voice heard.

Calvin O'Brien

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '21

Ben Collins

Mechanical & Aerospace Eng '22