Our Team

About Our Team

Baja SAE Racing at Cornell is an engineering project team that annually designs, builds, and races an All-Terrain Vehicle to compete in the SAE Collegiate Baja Design Series every year. Founded in 2003 by a group of mechanical engineers who wanted to bring their acquired engineering skills to the race track, Baja SAE Racing at Cornell has grown to encourage and support hands-on engineering and project-based learning for over 50 students from a diverse collection of majors. Comprising six subteams, students from all majors and schools of Cornell work together to ensure that team operations run smoothly, whether constructing the car, reaching out to sponsors, or racing during competition. Competing across the country, we value each one of our team members, as none of our success would be possible without each member’s hard work as a cohesive unit.

6

subteams

13

different majors

50

percent women

58

members

6

subteams

13

different majors

50

percent women

52

members

Team Leads

Natalie Dowd

Mechanical Engineering '25

Domi Swedek

Mechanical Engineering '25

Casey Savage

Mechanical Engineering '25

Testing Lead

Karolina Swedek

Mechanical Engineering '25

Onboarding Director

Akshay Undevia

Mechanical Engineering '25

Drivetrain Subteam

The drivetrain subteam designs and manufactures the vehicle's custom continuously variable transmission (CVT), gearbox, driveshafts, and wheel hubs. Component design is driven by extensive structural and thermal analysis that is validated with an engine dynamometer and on-car telemetry systems. With all vehicles in the competition limited to a 10 HP engine, a focus is placed on designing for reliability and power efficiency.

Raj Singh

Mechanical Engineering '26

Zoe Szymanski

Mechanical Engineering '26

Nina Hunt

Mechanical Engineering '25

Karolina Swedek

Mechanical Engineering '25

Joey Nadol

Mechanical Engineering '26

Damayanti Chakraborty

Mechanical Engineering '27

Ella Yellin

Mechanical Engineering '26

Rachel Ortiz

Mechanical Engineering '27

Bella Pensabene

Mechanical Engineering '27

Max Owens

Mechanical Engineering '26

Sean Dempsey

Mechanical Engineering '27

Carlota Champalimaud

Mechanical Engineering '26

Suspension Subteam

The suspension subteam is responsible for defining and achieving the desired handling characteristics of the car. The suspension constraints in a Baja car are unique to off-roading in that it must be able to tackle uneven rocks, logs, jumps, and hairpin turns. Through the design and manufacturing of custom linkages, ball joints and steering racks, as well as custom tuning of the springs and dampers, the suspension subteam is able to ensure that the vehicle maneuvers as needed with minimal driver effort.

Horatio Cordero

Mechanical Engineering '26

Chloe Kaufman

Mechanical Engineering '25

Owen LaPierre

Environment & Sustainability '27

Lukas Minutello

Mechanical Engineering '26

Hugo Mazzali

Mechanical Engineering '27

Aaron Chin

Mechanical Engineering '27

Frame Subteam

The frame subteam is tasked with designing and manufacturing the roll cage and main structure of the Baja car, creating a safe, protective barrier between our driver and the harsh obstacles of the course. The frame must attach all of the other components of the car through a solid foundation.

Sara Pagliuco

Engineering '26

Ava Rosenow

Mechanical Engineering '27

Rachel Landa

Mechanical Engineering '27

Julia Deffner

Mechanical Engineering '26

Ben Choe

ECE '26

Brakes Subteam

The brakes subteam designs and manufactures custom master cylinders, rotors, and calipers. Design constraints are determined through on-car testing and a custom dynamometer, which are used to create a reliable, effective, and easy to maintain system.

Charlie Cohen

Mechanical Engineering '26

Dan O'Malley

Mechanical Engineering '27

Silas Wilson

Mechanical Engineering '25

Charlotte Pendock

Mechanical Engineering '25

Business Subteam

The business subteam is responsible for the team's logistics and many of its operational facets. These include sourcing and maintaining sponsor relationships, designing and distributing public relations materials, coordinating team travel, designing apparel, fundraising, and recruitment of new members. The business subteam also competes in the Business Presentation event each season.

James Sy

Computer Science '25

Victoria Baker

Computer Science & Government '25

Sanya Kohli

ORIE '26

Margaret Gates

Mechanical Engineering '26

Valerie Wong

Information Science '26

Ryan Xie

Mechanical Engineering '27

Christina Boehm

Chemical Engineering '27

R&D

Andrew Mills

Mechanical Engineering '25

Natalie Dowd

Mechanical Engineering '25

Domi Swedek

Mechanical Engineering '25

Casey Savage

Mechanical Engineering '25

Arnav Tapadia

Physics '24

Akshay Undevia

Mechanical Engineering '25

Alex Hallstrom

Mechanical Engineering '25

Jin Bae

Mechanical Engineering '25

Emma Pellecer

Mechanical Engineering '25