- QUT Motorsport
Meet our Members! - Leadership Team
QUT Motorsport is proud to have so many talented students working within our team.
Our leadership is just one of many sub-teams that make up QUT Motorsport. Their roles are vital to the successful running and organisation of the club as a whole and they have been working tirelessly, along with all of our members, to come up with and maintain innovative solutions for the team.
Our leadership, (as pictured below from left) Ben Davie (Treasurer), Luke McCallum (Team Principal) and Aaron Christopher (Project Manager), have been kind enough to take the time out of their busy schedules to answer some questions in regard to their responsibilities and roles so you can learn more about them and the awesome work they do in QUT Motorsport.
Ben Davie (far left in photo above), QUT Motorsport Treasurer, joined the team in 2018 and is studying a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical):
What made you join the team?
"The team looked like a really interesting project and I was looking to be involved with a group of likeminded people."
As you have been a member for longer than 12 months, why are you still part of the team?
"As I have progressed through the team, there has been a number of invaluable skills and experiences that I have learnt. Being able to articulate these skills has allowed me to be involved in a number of other opportunities tailored to motivated students. I have found my passion for leadership and love seeing the younger members grow and develop as the year progresses."
In times of high workload, what keeps you motivated to complete all the tasks required?
"Knowledge of the end goal keeps me motivated to continue with the tasks at hand. It gives a purpose and prioritises the tasks at hand so I can work through them effectively. I love the journey of self-improvement, so I use the knowledge, and every task I complete helps me be a better member, engineer and leader of the team."
What do you wish to see the team do in the future?
"I would really like to see the team expand into other faculties creating opportunities for a wider range of students to get involved, this also improves the team’s operations as it involves different perspectives."
What features would you like to see on cars in future years?
"Topology optimization paired with additive manufacturing seems like a really good area to help make the components lighter and stronger. I would also like to see the team improve on the use of simulation of the car to better justify our decisions."
Luke McCallum, Team Principal (second from left in photo above), joined the team in 2017 and is studying a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) & Bachelor of Business (Finance):
What made you join the team?
"I was in my second year of university and had not really immersed myself in university programs or opportunities. Around the same time, I started to develop an interest in motorsport because of the unique combination of competitive sport with complex engineering. As a result, QUT Motorsport stood out to me as a good place to start my engagement in the QUT community."
As you have been a member for longer than 12 months, why are you still part of the team?
"There are so many aspects to why I continue to stay involved with the team. This includes the huge challenges we face in working on complex tasks with minimal guidance, the powerful team dynamic we have working with a large range of students in different disciplines and the process of learning invaluable skills such as resilience and perseverance which cannot be taught in the classroom. The greatest factor for staying with the team is the memories and long-term friendships created with other highly motivated students!"
In times of high workload, what keeps you motivated to complete all the tasks required?
"There are definitely times where I feel like giving up and just focusing on university, however I keep myself motivated by stepping back and looking at the big picture of what we are trying to achieve. There is also the reminder that we are a 'large machine' that requires each team member to be at the top of their game, so I would be letting everyone else down if I do not fulfil my role to the best of my ability."
What do you wish to see the team do in the future?
"I would love to grow the management structure within the team. My goal with this is to allow the technical leads (that currently have to take on management roles as well) to spend more time on detailed design work and instead have other people manage the co-ordination of sub-teams and deadlines. We have not had the resources to do that this year, but this is something that I believe will strongly benefit the team moving forward."
What features would you like to see on cars in future years?
"As we are essentially a first year team, everything we have designed this year has been on a steep learning curve. I would like to use the design work from this year to act as a base reference for iterative development in the years to come. This could include moving to a carbon chassis, fully developed aerodynamic package and exploration into the autonomous space."
Aaron Christopher, our Project Manager (far right in photo above), joined the team in 2014 and is studying a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical):
What made you join the team?
"I originally joined through a pure passion for motorsport and an interest in design. An open-day at the uni really presented the engineering behind the project and that's what was the final push to join."
As you have been a member for longer than 12 months, why are you still part of the team?
"I'm continually learning new things about how to resolve the problems presented to me in the team. It is something that I am very grateful for and why I have stuck around as I know this experience is invaluable."
In times of high workload, what keeps you motivated to complete all the tasks required?
"Knowing that what I am doing is contributing significantly to such a large and unique project is often what keeps me going. It is very rewarding seeing myself have an impact on this environment."
What do you wish to see the team do in the future?
"I would love to see the team progress successfully into the autonomous area. It is a highly complex thing to achieve but it is something that will bring a great image to the team and what we can do as engineers."
What features would you like to see on cars in future years?
"In future years and heading to autonomous, it would be great to see more things that most others don't think of like custom operating systems, development of new battery technologies and the like. Things that most worldwide teams don't have the chance to achieve."
A huge thank you to our leadership team (Ben Davie, Luke McCallum & Aaron Christopher) for answering some of our questions. We hope that you had an opportunity to learn more about them and their journey so far in QUT Motorsport.
Stay tuned to our Instagram and Facebook to learn more about our other sub-teams and members!
Alison Powell
Website Manager
Ben Davie
Treasurer