UCI’s HyperXite Wins Three Awards at Hyperloop Global Conference

August 7, 2025 - UC Irvine’s HyperXite team won Best Guidance (Dynamic Systems), Best Research (Levitation R&D), and Best Presentation at the 2025 Hyperloop Global Conference in Queen’s University, Canada. The competition saw university teams from North America present their Hyperloop technology.

The Hyperloop concept was introduced by SpaceX in 2013 as an ultra-high speed public transportation system where people can travel in electric pods at over 700 miles per hour. UC Irvine has a dedicated team, HyperXite, that researches and develops related technologies.

The teams were evaluated on their research, presentation, subsystems, and demonstrations. “Our greatest strength was that for every simulation we conducted, we also performed physical tests to validate our results in the real world,” said Kaitlyn Nguyen, the team’s chief mechanical engineer who majors in mechanical engineering at UCI.

The dynamics subteam presented simulations modeling the pod’s response to bumps on the track, vertical shock compression, and impulse testing on the suspension system. “Our biggest achievements are implementing a linear induction motor as the pod’s propulsion method and developing a levitation demonstration rig,” said Nguyen. The team’s levitation system is powered by electrodynamic suspension, making it an entirely passive system that would save a lot of energy. Levitation is one of the key features of the Hyperloop as it eliminates the friction of wheels that limits speed.

In UCI’s award-winning presentation, each of the ten subteams delivered a one-minute overview of their contribution and technical innovations. Afterwards, the team showcased a levitation demonstration rig. “For me, one of the biggest accomplishments was after working on this for almost two quarters from scratch, we got our first test rig to work,” said levitation engineer Diego Solorzano. “It was exciting to see it finally work.”

The students said being on the team was a priceless experience. Joining HyperXite with no hands-on engineering experience, Nguyen designed the chassis, suspension system and helped the levitation team with manufacturing. “The team gave me a lot of hands-on experience which has been helpful in my career and allowed me to become more confident in my skills,” said Nguyen who is now a Design Engineering Intern at ACCO Engineered Systems this summer.

Nguyen also enjoyed the strong community the project fostered. “Everyone does their best to support one another and mentor younger members so we can all learn and grow together,” she said.

The team’s chief electrical engineer Brigitte Chung, a computer science major, joined HyperXite as a propulsion engineer working on the linear induction motor. She said the experience helped her decide on the next steps in her career and land a software engineering internship at General Dynamics Mission Systems.

The students love the visionary concept of the Hyperloop. "Implementing the full Hyperloop system in the United States might be a stretch because of infrastructure, but the components and technology can gain traction on their own,” Chung said. She noted that linear induction motors already propel roller coasters and support Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) manufacturing.

Students also said they loved the cool factor of the futuristic project. “The technology isn’t really developed which gives us a lot of freedom to develop our research.” Chung said, “HyperXite offers a lot of opportunities that were unique.”

- Natalie Tso