Ashley Shaffer’s path to Purdue AI Racing began with a middle-school decision to become an engineer. After completing an Engineering degree with an electrical engineering concentration at Wartburg College, she set her sights on graduate work at Purdue.

Harshvardhan Patil’s road to Purdue AI Racing opened in fall 2023, when he approached Professor Daniel Williams about vehicle dynamics research.

Yuchen Song built his foundation in vehicle dynamics with a Bachelor’s in Vehicle Engineering from Wuhan University of Technology and sharpened his focus on control theory and embedded systems while earning a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering from UC Berkeley.

Eyan Hudson’s pathway to Purdue AI Racing began at the United States Naval Academy, where he graduated with a degree in Robotics and Control Engineering, specializing in unmanned aerial vehicles.

2nd Lt. William Hubert’s route to Purdue AI Racing started at the United States Air Force Academy, where he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering, specializing in robotics.

Dalseong Yoon’s road to Purdue AI Racing started with graduate research on vibration control for everything from sedans to wheel loaders.

Ethan Brown’s fascination with robotics began in elementary school, when his father gifted him an Arduino microcontroller.

Meet 2nd Lt. Drake Ott, a perception engineer whose journey to the fast lane began with dual enrollment at Purdue University Northwest in 2018.

“Drivers, start your engines!” is the traditional call at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. But what if the drivers were replaced by computers? Then you’d have the Indy Autonomous Challenge, a new competition featuring the world’s fastest autonomous race cars. Purdue AI Racing recently showcased its car maneuvering autonomously around the track at speeds up to 140 miles an hour.