Mickey George of Stateline put his scientific skill to work during the Shell Eco-marathon in Detroit, a three-day event where a car’s performance is based on energy efficiency, not speed.

George served as his college team’s manufacturing lead. Achieving 1,215 mpg, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo’s gasoline-fueled prototype vehicle was the top-scoring American entry and placed third overall at the 10th annual competition.

The event drew more than 1,000 students and a record 124 teams from seven countries to see which ultra-energy-efficient vehicle would travel the farthest using the least energy. First and second place were claimed by Canadian teams, the Université of Laval in Quebec and the University of Toronto.

Teams entered one of two vehicle categories. The Prototype class, which is for futuristic, streamlined vehicles, such as Cal Poly’s entry, and the UrbanConcept class, which focuses on fuel-efficient vehicles aimed at meeting the real-life needs of drivers. On the track, the cars were driven 10 laps, for a total distance of six miles, at an average speed of 15 miles per hour.

Cal Poly Supermileage team members credit their use of telemetry, a technology used to transmit data in real time, for much of their success this year.

Members of the Cal Poly Supermileage team also included Dorian Capps, mechanical engineering senior, president and powertrain lead; Sean Michel, mechanical engineering senior, treasurer; Chad Bickel, electrical engineering graduate student and testing lead; Eli Rogers, mechanical engineering graduate student and chassis lead; Lucas Rybarcyzk, mechanical engineering junior and steering lead; Kevin Bickers, aerospace engineering senior and aero lead; and drivers Laura Kawashiri and Zoe Tuggle, both mechanical engineering majors. Faculty advisors for the team are Joseph Mello, professor of mechanical engineering, and Art MacCarley, professor of electrical engineering and in bioresources and agricultural engineering.