The NDSU student team earned three awards during the Clean Snowmobile Challenge that ended March 10 at Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Mich.

The NDSU team, which took fourth place in the challenge, received the Society of Automotive Engineers Award for Best Design in the internal-combustion category, Mahle Powertrain Award for best engine design and Sensors Inc. Award for Lowest In-Service Emissions.

According to team member Chad Thomas, the NDSU team made a big impact with its diesel-powered sled. "We raised a lot of eyebrows this year. If we solve a couple of small issues we really will be the team to beat at next year's challenge," he said.

Much of the design work for the NDSU sled was completed by a core group of mechanical engineering students, including Thomas, a senior from Moorhead; Andy Bristow, a senior from Alexandria Minn.; Drew Weber, a senior from Cottage Grove Minn.; and Rick Bjorkquist, a senior from Crosslake Minn.

The NDSU squad is one of 12 teams entered in the internal combustion category, where engineering students take a stock snowmobile and re-engineer it. The goal is to reduce emissions and noise and increase fuel efficiency while preserving ride performance. The NDSU students used a turbo-diesel engine, only the second team in the competition’s history to do so, which allowed them to achieve an unofficial 28.5 miles per gallon.

In the competition, Clarkson University of Potsdam, N.Y., captured first place in the challenge, while the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, won the zero-emissions category.