The University of Colorado Boulder is a nationwide leader in sustainability and environmental curriculum but has only been a part of the Collegiate Wind Competition for two years. In 2020 the first CU wind team was selected as a learn along team for the 2020/21 CWC competition, a team of senior mechanical engineers who were completing their year-long capstone project through the University of Colorado College of Engineering. In contrast with some teams competing in CWC, the CU wind team is done through this capstone project as a way for students interested in renewable energy to get a hands-on project before graduation.
For this year’s competition, CU again returned to compete as a learn-along team with a completely new team of mechanical engineers who applied to be a part of the competition for their senior design class. Due to the fact that the team is participating concurrently in a senior design class and the CWC, each with their respective deliverables and regulations, the team needed to be structured a certain way. Each student’s position was determined by a specific role outlined by the senior design class structure, and dictated how students were sorted into jobs on the team. The following team roles were required to be filled as per the senior design class guidelines.