{"id":20154,"date":"2025-09-25T12:45:33","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T16:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/?p=20154"},"modified":"2025-09-25T15:38:27","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T19:38:27","slug":"solidworks-edu-celebrates-and-supports-baja-sae-50th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/2025\/09\/solidworks-edu-celebrates-and-supports-baja-sae-50th-anniversary.html","title":{"rendered":"SOLIDWORKS EDU Celebrates and Supports Baja SAE 50th Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Eighty plus engineering teams from around the world will participate in the Baja SAE design competition in Gray Court, South Carolina, October 2-5. This is the 50th year for Baja SAE and the SOLIDWORKS EDU team will be there to celebrate and cheer. Baja SAE returns to where it all started in South Carolina, in 1976, with University of South Carolina&#8217;s, Dr. John Stephens. Professor Stephens&#8217; vision was to provide opportunities for students to learn hands-on applications in stress analysis theory and solve real-world industry challenges including tight budgets and manufacturability concerns. Dr. Harit Mehta, managed the initial event (MiniBaja) with just 10 teams. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sae.org\/events\/student\/about\/baja\">Baja SAE<\/a> was born and is part of the SAE Collegiate Design Series through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sae.org\/\">SAE International<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>ii<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-20172\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Rock-Climb-SAE-Baja.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"298\" height=\"351\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Rock-Climb-SAE-Baja.png 295w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Rock-Climb-SAE-Baja-255x300.png 255w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 298px) 100vw, 298px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Baja SAE challenges students to design and build off-road vehicles that will survive severe punishment on rough terrain through a series of dynamic and static events along with team collaboration and problem-solving skills under pressure.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-20161\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/SOLIDWORKS-EDU-at-SAE-BAJA-615x615.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"615\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/SOLIDWORKS-EDU-at-SAE-BAJA-615x615.png 615w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/SOLIDWORKS-EDU-at-SAE-BAJA-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/SOLIDWORKS-EDU-at-SAE-BAJA-120x120.png 120w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/SOLIDWORKS-EDU-at-SAE-BAJA-768x767.png 768w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/SOLIDWORKS-EDU-at-SAE-BAJA-728x727.png 728w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/SOLIDWORKS-EDU-at-SAE-BAJA.png 905w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For over 20 years, SOLIDWORKS has been supporting Baja SAE students with our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solidworks.com\/product\/students\/solidworks-sponsorship-student-teams\">SOLIDWORKS Student Team Sponsorship<\/a> program, providing design, simulation (FEA), drawing and visualization software for free.<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-container\">\n<div class=\"entry-content-asset\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Baja SAE Rochester 2010 World Challenge\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WWBqGFoMg-Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>I was first introduced to Baja SAE events in 2010 hosted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rit.edu\/clubs\/baja\/\">Rochester Institute of Technology<\/a> (RIT), New York, USA.\u00a0 My first thoughts were intense, grueling, and engineering fun.\u00a0 There was a water event then, but due to safety, it would later be removed.\u00a0 Safety is the number one concern for SAE International, SAE Collegiate Design Series team and volunteer judges.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-20155\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/tech-tech-baja-for-EDU-Zone-1536x1152-1-615x461.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/tech-tech-baja-for-EDU-Zone-1536x1152-1-615x461.jpg 615w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/tech-tech-baja-for-EDU-Zone-1536x1152-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/tech-tech-baja-for-EDU-Zone-1536x1152-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/tech-tech-baja-for-EDU-Zone-1536x1152-1-728x546.jpg 728w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/tech-tech-baja-for-EDU-Zone-1536x1152-1.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Over the years, SOLIDWORKS EDU has supporting many Baja SAE events, including those hosted by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tntechbajasae.com\/\">Tennessee Tech<\/a>, where in 2011, I got to meet with my former mechanical engineering advisor, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/joseph-j-rencis\/\">Dr. Joe Rencis (now Embry-Riddle)<\/a>, who was engineering dean at the time. Joe educated me on the requirements to compete on a world-wide level and host such a intense engineering event. Tennessee Tech has gone on to win 12 major Baja SAE events. We were fortunate to have the Tennessee Tech team with us at <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/2022\/02\/the-amazing-student-stories-of-3dexperience-world-2022.html\">3DEXPERIENCE World 2022 <\/a>Nashville.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-20164\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Renegade-Racing-LeTourneau-461x615.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"296\" height=\"395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Renegade-Racing-LeTourneau-461x615.jpg 461w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Renegade-Racing-LeTourneau-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Renegade-Racing-LeTourneau-768x1024.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Renegade-Racing-LeTourneau-1152x1536.jpg 1152w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Renegade-Racing-LeTourneau-728x971.jpg 728w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Renegade-Racing-LeTourneau-rotated.jpg 1512w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 296px) 100vw, 296px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-20158\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Baylor-Baja-SAE-at-SOLIDWORKS-World-2019-501x615.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"319\" height=\"391\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Baylor-Baja-SAE-at-SOLIDWORKS-World-2019-501x615.jpg 501w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Baylor-Baja-SAE-at-SOLIDWORKS-World-2019-244x300.jpg 244w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Baylor-Baja-SAE-at-SOLIDWORKS-World-2019-768x943.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Baylor-Baja-SAE-at-SOLIDWORKS-World-2019-728x894.jpg 728w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Baylor-Baja-SAE-at-SOLIDWORKS-World-2019.jpg 1179w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 319px) 100vw, 319px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>With the help of our Value Added Resellers, we have supported events and teams in <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/2016\/04\/solidworks-students-succeed-baja-sae-india.html\">India<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/2015\/04\/vitoria-baja-team-competes-in-baja-sae-brasil.html\">Brazil<\/a> and showcased teams at <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/2024\/02\/student-success-showcased-at-3dexperience-world-2024.html\">3DEXPERIENCE World&#8217;s<\/a> such as Renegade Racing LeTrouneau (2024) and <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/2015\/02\/university-of-arizonia-baja-sae-team-featured-at-solidworks-world.html\">SOLIDWORKS World&#8217;s<\/a>, Baylor Baja, Baylor University (2019).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-20168 \" src=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/TTU_BajaSAE2-e1758816214832-615x517.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"292\" height=\"245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/TTU_BajaSAE2-e1758816214832-615x517.jpg 615w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/TTU_BajaSAE2-e1758816214832-300x252.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/TTU_BajaSAE2-e1758816214832-768x645.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/TTU_BajaSAE2-e1758816214832-1536x1291.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/TTU_BajaSAE2-e1758816214832-728x612.jpg 728w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/TTU_BajaSAE2-e1758816214832.jpg 1617w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 292px) 100vw, 292px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-20167\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/tenn-tech-baja-2020-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"259\" height=\"239\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/tenn-tech-baja-2020-1.jpg 468w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/tenn-tech-baja-2020-1-300x278.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 259px) 100vw, 259px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We walked in mud, dirt, extreme heat, rain and snow, to talk with teams at events in Alabama, Arizona, California, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, Wisconsin, and jumped at the chance to attend events and eat BBQ with these young engineers.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-20171\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/U-Nebraska-FSAE-BAJA-Teams-1-615x547.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/U-Nebraska-FSAE-BAJA-Teams-1-615x547.jpg 615w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/U-Nebraska-FSAE-BAJA-Teams-1-300x267.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/U-Nebraska-FSAE-BAJA-Teams-1-768x683.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/U-Nebraska-FSAE-BAJA-Teams-1-728x647.jpg 728w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/U-Nebraska-FSAE-BAJA-Teams-1.jpg 795w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>With our SOLIDWORKS User Group Network (SWUGN) we invite Baja SAE teams to present their vehicles and network with our commercial customers. All students can join a <a href=\"https:\/\/community.swugn.org\/\">SWUGN<\/a> organization.<\/p>\n<p>I still remember visiting, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/husker_baja\/?hl=en\">Husker Racing Baja<\/a> SAE and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huskermotorsports.com\/\">FSAE<\/a> teams at the University of Nebraska in 2015 &#8211; only to see them again at night during a <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/2015\/09\/designed-in-solidworks-manufactured-in-nebraska.html\">SWUGN meeting in Lincoln, NE<\/a>. (Thanks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/toddmblacksher\/\">Todd Blacksher)<\/a>. Years later, i would reach out again to Husker Racing to attend a local Auto show to raise money for a SOLIDWORKS community cancer patient, and they did.<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-container\">\n<div class=\"entry-content-asset\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"SolidWorks BAJA SAE Tutorials - Large Assembly Tips and Tricks\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/v0ctp8UCvOM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>We also support SAE student teams with free SOLIDWORKS certification. I love the stories of future jobs between students and our commercial customers. We have created hundreds of hours of video to support vehicle design, including this one made 14 years ago by my then intern, Steve Faulkner, team captain, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsinracing.org\/\">Wisconsin Racing,<\/a> using a model from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/iowa.state.baja\/?hl=en\">Iowa State Baja Cyclone Off-Road Racing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-container\">\n<div class=\"entry-content-asset\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"College Engineering Students Battle Their Builds at Baja SAE | Over the Edge\" width=\"1140\" height=\"641\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tQRI1ms-YWo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>To truly feel the event and understand what these students go through, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/gregoryjcarloss\/\">Greg Carloss<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/motorweek.org\/\">MotorWeek<\/a> interviewed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/damon-andring-b9b567ab\/\">Damon Andring<\/a>, SAE, and teams members at Baja SAE Maryland 2025.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-20190\" src=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Cyclone-Racing-Thank-you-2-615x435.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"615\" height=\"435\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Cyclone-Racing-Thank-you-2-615x435.png 615w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Cyclone-Racing-Thank-you-2-300x212.png 300w, https:\/\/blog-assets.solidworks.com\/uploads\/sites\/3\/Cyclone-Racing-Thank-you-2.png 719w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 615px) 100vw, 615px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We have received thousands of thank you&#8217;s from SAE, other sponsors, parents, alum, students and their advisors. Keep those letters, postcards, newsletters, photos and videos coming to share on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SOLIDWORKSEducation\/\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solidworksedu_and_startups\/\">Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>From Gray Court, South Carolina, SOLIDWORKS EDU will be there to celebrate 50 years with you and yes, we have SOLIDWORKS cable ties!<\/p>\n<p>Design well, Marie<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eighty plus engineering teams from around the world will participate in the Baja SAE design competition in Gray Court, South Carolina, October 2-5. This is the 50th year for Baja SAE and the SOLIDWORKS EDU team will be there to<\/p>\n... <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/2025\/09\/solidworks-edu-celebrates-and-supports-baja-sae-50th-anniversary.html\">Continued<\/a>","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":20178,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7035],"tags":[7768,5123,7772,7771,7774,7773,7550,7721,7767,7769,7770],"class_list":["post-20154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-students","tag-50th-anniversary","tag-baja-sae","tag-cyclone-racing","tag-husker-baja-sae","tag-husker-racing","tag-iowa-state","tag-rit-racing","tag-solidworks-student-sponsorship","tag-solidworks-baja","tag-south-carolina","tag-tennessee-tech"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20154"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20192,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20154\/revisions\/20192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.solidworks.com\/teacher\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}