Three finalists are being granted the opportunity to present their innovative transportation solutions to more than 80 industry professionals and to compete for a grand prize of $5000.
The finalists for the Fuels Institute’s 2016 Future of Transportation Case Competition have been selected, and are scheduled to compete for first place during the Institute’s annual meeting in San Francisco, which takes place April 27-29. The three finalists that will be competing are Duke University, Morgan State University and the University of California, Berkeley.
In its second year, the Fuels Institute’s Case Competition, sponsored by Gilbarco Veeder Root North America, provides teams of university undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to create their vision of an ideal future transportation sector. Teams were asked to outline how their vision could become a reality within the next 30 years, based on the current infrastructure in the U.S.
Twenty teams of three or more students from 11 schools registered for the competition. A group of 13 judges from the fuels, retail and vehicle industries winnowed the submissions to the top three. The finalists will be flown to San Francisco to present to more than 80 professionals in the fuels and vehicle industries on Thursday, April 28. The winner of the 2016 Future of Transportation Case Competition will be announced later that evening at an awards dinner.
The winning team will share $5,000; the second and third place teams will win $2,500 and $1,000, respectively. The finalists, along with three honorable mention submissions, will have their submissions published by the Fuels Institute.
“Our team of judges was impressed by the ideas and perspectives presented by each of the finalists,” said Fuels Institute Executive Director John Eichberger. “We look forward to hearing the finalists present their visions of an innovative transportation future to industry thought leaders attending the Fuels Institute meeting next month.”
In addition to the student competition, the Fuels Institute, founded by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) in 2013, commissions and publishes comprehensive, fact-based research projects that address the issues identified by the affected stakeholders. These projects help inform both business owners considering long-term investment decisions and policymakers considering legislation and regulations affecting the market.
