ADVANCED VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY COMPETITIONS (AVTC)
EcoCAR Innovation Challenge
UB is one of 20 universities across North America selected for the EcoCAR Innovation Challenge, part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTC) series.
EcoCAR is a four-year collegiate automotive engineering competition where student teams use real vehicles and industry tools to design, test and present vehicle technologies through judged milestones and events.
UB will compete on the Stellantis track, where students will work with a 2026 Jeep Cherokee hybrid and focus on systems tied to hybrid propulsion, electric motors, batteries, controls, AI-enabled engineering and advanced computing.
Advancing electric vehicle innovation while preparing the next generation of engineers
UB students follow an industry-style vehicle development process—using sponsor-provided tools and mentoring to turn ideas into tested systems on the Jeep Cherokee hybrid platform.
Hands-on Engineering
Students design, build and test real-world EV technologies
Industry Mentorship
Guidance from engineers and experts across leading companies
Career Pathways
Connecting students to internships, placements and future careers
Applied Research
Solving current challenges through innovation and experimentation
By the Numbers: National Impact
$ M
Industry investment as of 2025
New credit courses created
K
Graduates placed into jobs
Placed in 2025 at 160 companies
Publications in the last 10 years
Total Universities and Colleges
Partners
EcoCAR connects UB students with national labs, automakers and technology partners as they work through the technical demands of a real vehicle platform.
UB Team
UB’s EcoCAR team brings together faculty from the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, students from multiple technical disciplines and BEP’s work connecting university projects with industry needs.
Chunming Qiao
Principal Investigator (PI)
SUNY Distinguished Professor
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Jim P. Zheng
Co-Principal Investigator
SUNY Empire Innovation Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering
Stacey Johnson
Co-Principal Investigator
Director of Workforce and Industry Engagement, UB Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships
Ziyad Shahin
Program Manager
PhD Student, Transportation Systems Engineering
Student Team Leaders
Student leaders help guide the team’s technical work, coordination and competition milestones as UB’s EcoCAR program takes shape.
Shri Harsha Adapala
PhD Student,
Computer Science
Jingye Guo
PhD Student,
Electrical Engineering
Patrick Johnson
PhD Student,
Electrical Engineering
Oakley Thomas
PhD Student,
Computer Science
Haosong Xiao
PhD Student,
Mechanical Engineering
PROJECT NEWS
Additional resources for industry collaboration
Explore more ways to connect with UB Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships.
Workforce Development and Industry Support
Our workforce development team is part of a Western New York workforce ecosystem that connects industry, cross-sector partners, UB resources and foundation support to bolster innovation pilots and real job placements that align with industry demand.
Leverage UB’s talented pool of over 30,000 students to solve your business challenges.
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