Q&A: Piper Howell, Stellana Engineer, on the MIT Hyperloop II Pod Unveil

The Hyperloop pod competition was first announced in 2015 by SpaceX. Student teams were challenged to design and build the best functioning, innovative prototypes of high-speed pods. Since the announcement in 2015, three competitions have taken place in January 2017, August 2017, and July 2018. Over the course of the competitions, Stellana has gained recognition by demonstrating success through their wheels and tires. This year we are working with a couple of groups, one of which is MIT Hyperloop II. Piper Howell, Stellana Engineer, has worked closely with this team and was able to attend the pod unveil May 22. We have put together a brief Q&A to provide some insight into the competition and the future of this alternative transportation. How did Stellana begin working with MIT Hyperloop II? The lead of MIT’s team, Vik Parthiban, had participated in a prior competition as an undergraduate student in Texas. After beginning graduate school at MIT, he took on the role as th