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Formula Slug is a dedicated group of over 140 UC Santa Cruz student engineers, mathematicians, computer programmers, and business majors committed to building both an effective team and a high-performance electric car.
This project brings together a diverse group of students to collaborate on the most hands-on engineering project at UC Santa Cruz. In just under six months, we’re designing and manufacturing an ecologically-conscious, open wheeled vehicle that must adhere to stringent rules and safety regulations.
Our members are personally invested in this project - with many working more than twenty hours a week to ensure this car is completed and that the team grows and matures along the way. We’re not just representing the school and our team; we’re designing the future of transportation.
We exist to:
Cultivate and develop skills of a diverse, passionate group of students who care about sustainable engineering, while also preparing them for successful careers after UC Santa Cruz.
Promote awareness, use, and evolution of electric vehicles in America and the global community. Electric cars are the future, and we’re building it.
Our 100 members are partitioned into three smaller departments: Mechanical, Electrical, and Operations.
Our Mechanical team turns sketches and ideas into a fully fabricated vehicle. They manufacture the entire car from the ground up, source parts and materials, and CAD custom components to ensure our vehicle is efficient, powerful, and safe. Learn more here.
The Electrical team designs and assembles the hundreds of systems and components that power our car. This team handles everything from the design of custom circuitry to the configuration of the immensely sophisticated Zero© motors. Learn more here.
Our Operations team handles the myriad of people and logistics that are the backbone of such a large team. As the team’s main form of organization, they handle meetings, paperwork, PR, corporate outreach, and finances. They keep our team funded, working collaboratively, and focused on our mission. Learn more here.
Our total forecasted budget is $50,000 to build our first car, of which, we are trying to raise $15,000 through the support of our friends and family. With audacious goals come large financial needs.The remaining $35,000 will come from a combination of in-kind donations, corporate sponsorships, and outside funds we have already received. Any additional money we raise over our crowdfunding goal will alleviate work finding sponsorships, allowing us to spend more time working on our car and focusing on our studies.
Our vehicle is comprised of thousands of parts which will need to be purchased or donated. We need tools to build and service the car, and machine shop time to weld and fabricate custom parts. All of our hard work will be put to the test at the competition in Nebraska, which we will need to send 20 current students to.
Parts: $35,000
Travel: $8,000
Lab Space: $7,000
We have a full budget available at this link. If you’d like to make an in-kind donation please contact keyzhao@ucsc.edu, we’re a registered 501(c)3 and can provide a tax exemption for all types of charitable gifts. Make your gift today to enable the Formula Slug team to build our electric car and compete in the Formula SAE Electric Competition.
Keep up to date with our team, and learn more:
For a $15 donation, you will receive a personalized thank you email from a team member detailing the current activities of our club and that specific team.
A member of our team will write a special thank you card to the donor detailing our progress, status, and what we are planning in our immediate future!
We just recently received lab space after searching for over a year and we are equally excited to share our success with our generous donors! For $150, you are invited to attend our general meeting and have a tour of our lab space.
You will receive a personalized signed photograph of the team as well as an invitation to our lab and meetings and a hand-written thank you card.
All perks below this level are included. You are invited to meet the team and take a photograph with us and sign the car's body paneling before the competition.
You are invited to the Formula Slug sponsors thank you day after we compete in June. There you'll have the opportunity to experience the car in person as well as all the perks below this level.
After attending a meeting with the team, you are invited to a group dinner with lead team members to learn more about the details of the vehicle, team, and process we've undergone. All perks below this level included.