T² gives Tim the ride of his life

From Marshall to Michigan, it’s been a dream come true

There have been times in the past few months when Tim de Souza has had to pinch himself, sometimes to make sure it wasn’t all a dream, at other times just to keep himself awake.

“This whole Ford Global Challenge has just been fantastic,” said Tim, now back working on his PhD after his involvement in the prize-winning project. When the opportunity came along to be part of it, I knew I couldn’t say no, even though it meant putting off my PhD for a while.

“Now that the result is known and it is such a brilliant result for everyone involved, I’d have to say it was more than worth it.”

There were times though, when Tim wondered.

“We did a lot of late nights, particularly towards the end of the project when we had to meet Ford’s deadline,” he sighed.

“But against that Stuart Hanafin and I were lucky enough to be chosen to make sure our entry got to Dearborn in Michigan.”

Not bad for a boy from Marshall, Geelong, Victoria, Australia.

“That was an amazing experience, to be right in the heart of the Ford Motor Company, and to be presenting to Bill Coughlan, the CEO of Ford Global Technologies, and Frank MacKenzie, the organiser of the competition,” Tim said.

“While still feeling a little jet lagged, we made our way to their offices, then headed down into their IAC (Intellectual Advancement Centre), which is a dedicated area for brainstorming/workshopping of new concepts and 'out of the square' thinking at Ford.

“We then showed them our DVD and from the opening title menu they seemed quite impressed and stated that we should be working in Hollywood. After the DVD, they seemed extremely impressed with what was displayed and showcased.

“Bill Coughlin said: ‘You guys nailed it!’

“We then displayed our posters and the two models we had developed and took them through each one in an informal discussion. They were also quite interested in our power train choice and were also impressed with how we had cleverly integrated components and engineered the vehicle to turn on the spot.

“Most importantly, and the one decision which was the hardest to make for us - the name Model T2 - went down fantastically.

“We left Dearborn pretty confident in what we had achieved, but then there were all the nerve-wracking moments waiting for the final world.

“I must admit I did have to pinch myself when I saw Deakin’s name up there alongside Aachen’s as the two universities that would be showcased by Ford to see if I was dreaming.”

If it was a dream, Tim was quickly woken from it once the word of Deakin’s success got out.

“We got the first phone call from a radio station in Hobart at 6am,” he said.

“Stuart and I were hooked-up on a conference phone. For the next few days we all did a lot of media interviews. It seemed a lot of people in Australia were really pleased that Deakin had done so well in a competition against not just Aachen, which is in Germany, but four other universities from America.

“It is certainly excellent recognition that the work we are doing here atDeakin in lightweight materials, in design, in a lot of the areas we brought together to make this a holistic project, not just an engineering one, is right up at the world class level. I think for everyone involved, it has been a real confidence booster.

“We can tell ourselves that what we are doing is important, is making a difference, is cutting edge, but it’s nice to get this sort of recognition.

“The Ford Global Challenge has been a fantastic experience and I am grateful to Deakin for providing me with the opportunity to be involved in the winning team that we put together.”

> BACK