UTICA, NY – A team of engineering students from SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) have earned national recognition by winning the coveted Grand Champion title at the 2025 National Fluid Power Association (NFPA) Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge. The competition, held April 9–11 at IMI plc in Rockford, Illinois, brought together top undergraduate teams from across the country to showcase innovative applications of hydraulic technology in vehicle design.

Marking only their second time participating in the event, SUNY Poly’s team returned with a mission, improve on their impressive third-place finish from 2024. Their efforts culminated in a commanding performance that earned them top honors in several key categories, including Best Final Presentation, first place in both the Efficiency and Endurance Races, and second place in the Sprint Race. Their exceptional results propelled them to the overall Grand Champion distinction.

The NFPA Fluid Power Vehicle Challenge encourages student teams to reimagine traditional vehicle platforms using hydraulic power transmission. SUNY Poly’s winning entry, a fluid-powered bicycle, eliminated the conventional mechanical chain, replacing it with a sophisticated hydraulic system that directly translated pedal power into motion. Months of design, fabrication, and testing went into creating the high-performance vehicle, which not only demonstrated engineering excellence but also highlighted the real-world potential of fluid power systems.

The SUNY Poly students behind the success — Pascal Harrison, Joshua Archanian, Henry Miller, Christopher Lam, Kyle Vedder, Edric Pham, and Robert Dawson — are members of the Wildcat Fluid Power Club. Under the guidance of their faculty advisor, Dr. Ahmed Abdelaal, the team dedicated hundreds of hours to the project. Their efforts exemplified the collaborative, hands-on learning environment SUNY Poly fosters through experiential education and industry-connected opportunities.

“I’m incredibly proud of our students, not only for their innovation in designing a high-performance fluid-powered bike, but also for their relentless determination,” said Dr. Abdelaal. “They came back stronger this year after finishing third last year, and their hard work and resilience truly paid off. This achievement is a testament to what SUNY Poly students are capable of when given the opportunity to take on real-world engineering challenges.”

The 2025 competition was held across three host sites: IMI plc in Rockford, Illinois; Danfoss Power Solutions in Ames, Iowa; and IFP Motion Solutions Inc. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Each location crowns its own Grand Champion team, with SUNY Poly earning the top distinction at the competition in Illinois. SUNY Poly’s strong showing on this national stage underscores the university’s growing impact in advanced engineering education and hands-on, real-world innovation.