Eva Håkansson
Swedish mechanical engineer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eva Håkansson is a Swedish mechanical engineer and lecturer at the University of Auckland. In 2014 she became the world's fastest woman on an electric motorbike.
Eva Håkansson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1981[1] |
| Education | PhD in Mechanical engineering[1] |
| Alma mater | Mälardalen University University of Denver |
| Occupation | Lecturer[1] |
| Known for | Electric motorcycling |
| Spouse | Bill Dube[1] |
| Website | evahakanssonracing |
Early life and education
Håkansson grew up in Sweden. She studied Business Administration and Environmental Science at Mälardalen University College.[2] Her father, Sven Håkansson, used to build motorcycles and her mother was the family mechanic. In 2007 she converted a motorcycle into an electronic bike with her father and the ElectroCat became the first registered e-bike in Sweden.[3][4][5] In 2007, whilst writing a book about motorcycles and electric vehicles, she called Bill Dube to ask for the permissions to use a photograph of his electric bike.[6] She became part of the team that created the KillaCycle, and married the creator Bill Dubé eighteen months later.[7][5] In 2010 she delivered a TEDx talk at the University of Denver, where she discussed environmentally friendly ways to race quickly.[8] She completed a PhD in corrosion at the University of Denver in 2016.[9]
Research and career
In 2014 Håkansson broke the land speed record at the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials in the custom-built KillaJoule.[10] KillaJoule was the fastest electric motorcycle in the world.[10] She was one of the faces of the Johnnie Walker campaign in 2015 alongside Jenson Button and Jude Law.[11][12][13] In 2016, Håkansson broke the land speed record at the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials, achieving 248 mph (399 km/h).[14]
Håkansson teaches engineering design at the University of Auckland.[2] In 2017 she reached 255.122 mph (410.579 km/h) in the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials.[15] She is now working on the Green Envy motorcycle.[15] Green Envy uses computer-aided design and a 1,000 horsepower motor.[14] She has been building the motorcycle in New Zealand, and plans to debut it in 2019.[16][17]