Today we’d like to introduce you to Trevor Liu.
Hi Trevor, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’m a student at the University of Texas at Austin, where the motto is “what starts here changes the world.” It’s that mentality that makes me proud to be a part of my student team, Texas Guadaloop. I’ve been incredibly lucky to have had wonderful friends, mentors, and family that have given me the confidence and determination to make the world a better place. Coming into UT, I knew I wanted to be a part of something that changed the world. What that means exactly is pretty vague, so when college began, it was my mission to discover how I wanted to go about making a positive difference in my career.
After a few years full of classes, internships, books, lecture series, advice, and whatever else might help me define my career interests, I discovered I want to spend my life fighting climate change. I’m so grateful for the opportunities and wonders that the world has provided me, and I want to help preserve the planet for future generations to enjoy as well. Now, what made that discovery slightly unsatisfying, was that I also discovered that there are oodles of options for fighting climate change. Could I see myself as an electrical engineer trying to transform how we use energy on the planet? Certainly. Would I be interested in being a consultant who helps companies find ways to decarbonize? You bet. Are there possibilities that I haven’t don’t even know about yet? Oh yeah.
Like nearly every student on the 40 acres, my interests are diverse. I’m pursuing degrees in electrical engineering and psychology with a minor in business while engaging in humanities and engineering activities outside of the classroom. I love working with people, but I also love tackling technical challenges. The desire to explore my varied interests while working towards decarbonizing technology is what brought me to Texas Guadaloop.
Texas Guadaloop is a student organization from UT Austin disrupting modern transportation with hyperloop technology. Similar to a bullet train, hyperloop is a fully electric transportation system that reaches blistering speeds by reducing air resistance and friction. Winning two SpaceX Innovation Awards in the process, our team has designed, built, tested, and showcased hyperloop pods that levitate utilizing state-of-the-art air-bearing technology. Through engineering innovations, public advocacy, and international collaboration, we seek to advance transportation towards a faster, cheaper, and more sustainable future.
While our subject matter may seem merely technical, we’re not just an engineering team. Our talented teammates consist of a diverse array of students majoring in engineering, computer science, business, economics, math, physics, psychology, and more. Our goals are wider than technically innovating; we want to change the world. That takes a multidisciplinary team of future leaders who won’t stop until we transform transportation.
Texas Guadaloop has given me a sense of direction, an appreciation for the present, and a feeling that I’m part of something bigger than myself. Shoutout to all the teammates, advisors, mentors, and supporters who have all helped make our team what it is today. You’ve given every Guadalooper the chance to explore their passions while making a difference in the world. Guadaloop to the moon!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
One of the biggest challenges we’ve faced as a student team has been the pandemic. For most of 2020 and 2021, we were unable to work with each other in person, and plans to compete at any competition went out the window. Our team was left disconnected and without a clear goal to strive for. Since returning to campus, our team has been reinvigorated with a newfound sense of direction; we’re planning to compete overseas at the European Hyperloop Week design competition in the summer of 2022, but we’re also trying to do so much more. We want to redefine what it means to be a student organization—we want to show that students, in the pursuit of their passions, can change the world for the better. Our goals have gotten bigger and we’re now closer than ever, participating in intramural sports together, playing late into the night at game nights, and just having fun being our goofball selves. While the pandemic was certainly a sour spot in our team’s history, I’m thrilled about the excitement we all share about moving forward better than ever.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
At Texas Guadaloop, I serve as the President and Head of Engineering. I like to think I only have one responsibility: ensuring the success of the team. This boils down to more concrete responsibilities like managing the engineering team to hit our goals and seeking out ways the team can have a greater impact, whether it’s starting a new project, building a new relationship, or sharing our knowledge with the community. It’s also important to connect with every member of the team to learn how the organization can better support their interests and aspirations. When the team and its members share a common goal, we move like no one else. A huge part of my job is making sure that happens.
Any big plans?
Over the next year, we hope to share our research at the European Hyperloop Week conference in July 2022. This conference brings together the biggest hyperloop companies and university teams from around the world. While learning from other passionate hyperloopers, we hope to push the boundary of technology forward and inch hyperloop closer to reality. We are completely overhauling our previous work by designing a prototype hyperloop pod that incorporates cutting-edge innovations like linear induction motors, magnetic levitation, and regenerative braking. After a brief dormancy during the pandemic, we’re ready to burst onto the world stage, guns blazing, Texas-style. In the longer term, we want to support the development of full-scale hyperloop systems around the world. In addition to our historically engineering-focused activities, we’re branching out to tackle other challenges that hyperloop technologies face in their implementation—getting community input, ensuring accessibility, and garnering government support are also important pieces of the hyperloop puzzle!
Contact Info:
- Email: uthyperloopengineering@gmail.com
- Website: Guadaloop.com
- Instagram: texasguadaloop
- Facebook: texasguadaloop
