Laramie, WY — April 23, 2009 — Over the years, Firehole Technologies,
Inc. (www.fireholetech.com) has provided
donations and support to several University of Wyoming programs. This April, Firehole
continued the tradition through support to the UW Moonbuggy team. The team was comprised
of four mechanical engineering students including Eli Krahenbuhl, a former Firehole
intern, and have worked on constructing their moonbuggy since fall of ‘08.The moonbuggy
was built from the ground up in preparation for the NASA Great Moonbuggy Race (GMBR)
in Huntsville, Alabama. This race is known for asserting several interesting rules
including requiring the moonbuggy to collapse into a 4 foot cube. During the competition
the UW team was close to breaking the GMBR course record, however on the next-to-last
obstacle they hit a bad bounce causing a minor delay to the team.
"We set a realistic goal of winning the 2009 Great Moonbuggy Race when we started
the project. I made a slight miscalculation in speed that caused the buggy to roll
just seconds from the finish line on the first of two runs at the competition. We
broke the buggy in two pieces on our second run, ending our chances at victory.
I think we learned more from our shortcomings than we would have if everything had
worked correctly," said UW team member Eli Krahenbuhl.
"Firehole has a long history of supporting our local university students and
the Great Moonbuggy Race is no exception. Not only do we like to see the students
engaged in fun projects, but we appreciate that they are experiencing real-world
engineering problems. Firehole is happy to invest in our local university programs
so that they can develop the engineers of tomorrow," said Firehole’s CEO, Jerad
Stack.
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About Firehole Technologies Inc.
Firehole Technologies supplies innovative computer-aided simulation software and
services for composite materials to the aerospace, defense, automotive and energy
industries. Firehole’s Helius:MCT™ software enables the design of composite
structures without the numerous expensive testing cycles traditionally deployed,
allowing for a faster time-to-market and more reliable designs. The company’s mission
is to enable wide-spread use of composite materials leading to lighter, stronger
and more fuel efficient applications. For more information, visit
www.fireholetech.com.
Contacts:
Jason Gies
Firehole Technologies Inc.
+1-307-460-4763