MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Kristen Hammer, business development director for Virgin Hyperloop One, had a straightforward message for dozens of West Virginia University engineering students.
“The journey that you take should not be scary.”
Yeah, right. How about when you’re in a pod exceeding 600 miles an hour in a vacuum sealed tube?
Fortunately, Hammer was referring to life’s journeys. Hammer, whose educational background is in welding, was exhorting student to think big.
She presented the mind-blowing possibilities of Hyperloop One as representatives of the company swung through Morgantown while determining where to place a certification center that would involve high-speed testing and regulatory issues.
MORE: West Virginia makes its pitch for Hyperloop high-speed pod transit development center
The hyperloop is a proposed method of high-speed transportation for people or freight through a system of tubes.
A hyperloop system could connect cities, allowing transportation in pods zipping through sealed tubes at speeds of 600 miles an hour or more.
This is possible because of the magic of a “proprietary magnetic levitation system.”
It’s right out of the Jetsons, but for the traveler Hammer said it’s fairly mundane — a matter of locating a nearby portal on an app, heading that way and then zipping to another town.
“You can sit there with your hot coffee and not spill anything on yourselves,” she told the Morgantown crowd.
But more research and testing are necessary.
While state officials, including representatives of the Development Office, plus WVU and Marshall universities, are making their best pitch to lure Hyperloop One’s certification center to West Virginia, the pitch on Thursday evening was meant to capture students’ imaginations.
“We’ve come here because West Virginia is interested,” Hammer said. “The fact that you’re all here and listening and learning is really speaking a lot for this region.”
The Hyperloop One public presentation took place at Vantage Ventures on University Avenue, where momentum has sprung from a partnership with West Virginia native John Chambers, former chairman of Cisco Systems.
As students started filled the seats and then stood at the side and back of the room, overhead speakers played “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” and then vintage Fleetwood Mac.
“I cannot tell you how excited I am to be here tonight,” said Javier Reyes, dean of the Chambers College of Business and Economics. “Now the future is here.”
Reyes aimed his introductions at the students who gathered.
“You can dream it, you can build it,” he said.
Students participated in a question and answer session by tossing each other a microphone safely encased in a puffy cube with WVU branding. They asked questions about financial efficiency and safety considerations.
A mechanical and aerospace engineering student Matt Barker, a Detroit native, asked a question about how Virgin Hyperloop One differs from a concept promoted by Elon Musk. The two have similar ideas but are not directly connected.
“I was really excited to ask my question because I’m really passionate about this stuff,” Barker said.
Even for these early adapters, development of the hyperloop might still take a while. Hammer described full implementation of about a decade from now.
“You’re going to go out in the world and before you know it you’re going to be riding hyperloops,” Hammer told the students.
Hammer invited students to stay in touch with the company.
“We’re always looking for good talent. I know you have that here,” she said.