ISLAMABAD: For the first time, a team of students from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), Islamabad has been selected for the Shell Ecomarathon that is being held in France in June. The Shell Ecomarathon is held thrice every year in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. As many as 200 teams from all over the world take part in it. NUST team manager Shahzad Ahmad, a student studying in the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (SMME) at NUST, said that they had been planning to take the initiative for quite some time, but due to a lack of funds, nothing was able to materialise until earlier this year. After a series of setbacks and a lot of hard work, the team finally managed to build their very own vehicle that is to compete in the marathon, complete with an aluminium chassis, and an ultra-light, robust carbon fiber body. The team has modelling experts Mobasil and Azaan, who are responsible for the designing and fabrication of the aerodynamic body of the car, with its crisp edges and smooth finish. The ultra light aluminum chassis structure was designed and assembled by Haris Shahzad and Muhammad Owais, and the safety gadgets and instrumentation were installed by the electronics pros Omar Ikram, Talha Zafar and Iqtadar Khan. Additional features of the car include a ‘dead man’s switch’, a collision avoidance system, and an eco-assist system. To top it all, the NUST team got the idea to get the car painted in the traditional Pakistani truck art, which is the most distinctive feature of the vehicle and makes it stand out beautifully. They have also recruited a handful of motivated individuals, who are on the hunt for sponsors to provide the necessary funds for the trip. As global warming and environmental damage are becoming graver threats to life on earth by the day, the need for environment-friendly transportation is becoming a matter of greater concern now more than ever, because statistics show that a great chunk (as much as 30%) of the total greenhouse gases produced are emitted by cars. In an effort to combat these threats in the future, Shell has come up with the Shell Ecomarathon that gives a chance to students to come forth with innovative ideas in the shape of self-designed and self-built vehicles that compete with each other in the ultimate battle of energy-efficiency. Each team is judged on how far its vehicle can travel on one liter of fuel and ultimately, the team with the most fuel efficient car takes home the prize.