Trine University engineering seniors secure sponsorship from hometown for senior design project

By Mackenzie Rosenau
English ’26

Trine engineering mechanical engineering majors Ezekiel Keim, Christian Verst, Collin Seegert, Jacob Batten, Michael Jones, Ryan Somsel and Tristan Pappano secured a sponsorship from one of their hometowns for their senior design project, an entry for the annual Shell Eco-marathon.

Students have to go through the process of soliciting sponsors on their own by marketing their project and describing the benefits of sponsoring them.

The Shell Eco-marathon challenges students to create the most energy-efficient vehicle possible. There are three categories students can compete in: hydrogen fuel cell, battery-electric, and internal combustion engine.

Keim said, “Our team is competing in the Prototype Internal Combustion Engine category, pushing the limits of fuel efficiency with a lightweight frame, aerodynamic body, precision tires, and a finely tuned engine built to go farther on less.”

Support from home

The group received many sponsorships from companies like Michelin, MSP Seals, Acieta–Capital Industries, Eaton, GDC and Sage RV. However, one of the most personal sponsorships was from Batten’s hometown of Morristown, Indiana.

Batten reached out to Morristown’s police chief to inquire about a sponsorship. He sent their group brochure designed by Keim, which detailed all the information about their project and what a sponsorship would entail.

Seegert said, “It felt incredibly relieving to receive this sponsorship. Our project requires significant funding and having Jacob’s hometown support us was both encouraging and motivating. It showed that our community believes in what we’re doing.”

The project requires a lot of hard work with several challenging design elements. The biggest challenge for the group is creating the body of the vehicle that they will be showcasing at the competition.

Seegert said, “One major challenge we’ve faced is creating the vehicle’s body. We’re building a carbon fiber monocoque, which involves laying carbon fiber over a sacrificial foam mold, a process that demands precision and practice. We’ve completed a few practice layups at quarter- and half-scale to refine our technique.”

“Our favorite part of this project is definitely the team dynamic. Everyone contributes equally, and we work extremely well together, constantly bouncing ideas off one another to improve our design,” Seegert said.