Argonne National Laboratory

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Head of Argonne’s Green Racing team takes part in White House’s ​‘Extreme STEM’ Hangout
In honor of National Science Week, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) hosted an ​“Extreme STEM” Google+ Hangout on Tuesday, April 22.
Forrest Jehlik
Prior to joining Argonne, Forrest Jehlik worked in research and development for General Motors.

Argonne National Laboratory engineer Forrest Jehlik, who leads the lab’s Green Racing program, was among the participants.

The ​“Extreme STEM” Hangout was the latest in OSTP’s ​“We the Geeks” video series. ​“We the Geeks” had previously touched on topics such as asteroids with Bill Nye, the science of cooking with Food Network chef Anne Burrell, and the science of superheroes around ComicCon.

Tuesday’s event was aimed at inspiring students to enter STEM fields by shining a light on people who have done particularly exciting or nontraditional work in STEM. To watch a recording of the Hangout, visit the White House YouTube channel.

Green Racing team members (from left): Marty Zehr (Zehr Racing, owner), Forrest Jehlik (Argonne), Dalton Zehr (Zehr Racing, driver), Rob Fisher (editor, Circle Track Magazine), Mark Jones (Zehr Racing, chief mechanic) and Danny Bocci (Argonne).

Argonne’s Green Racing program develops advanced technology and fuels for the raceway to improve fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gases. The initiative aims to create better and faster race cars using green technology and inspire competitive drivers and manufacturers to use more sustainable practices. Researchers anticipate that adoption within the sport could start a ripple effect among 20 million American fans, eventually influencing what the average person parks in his/her own driveway.

Jehlik belongs to the Vehicle Systems section of Argonne’s Transportation Technology Research and Development Center. He is part of a diverse Green Racing team of scientific and industry collaborators, including chemists, materials scientists, engineers and energy storage and combustion experts.