Empowered by the Sun
Engineering students give public sneak peak of new generation solar car
By Judy Woodward and Rhonda Zurn
It was a dark hour for Adam Shea, a junior majoring in electrical engineering. Last year, the Solar Vehicle Project was in jeopardy.
 For nearly two decades, the project had given dedicated teams of engineering and science undergraduate students in the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology an opportunity to design, build, and race across North America in a James Bond-style fantasy vehicle. Resembling a moderate-sized, scaly airplane wing, the vehicle is powered on the amount of energy it takes to fuel a couple of hair dryers. For Shea and nearly three dozen teammates, the project, which culminates in the North American Solar Challenge, was to be the crown of their undergraduate career.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s the most fun, and it’s the biggest project undergraduates can get into,” explains Shea.
Then without warning, government support for the race was withdrawn last year. In the last race of its kind in 2005, the University team had placed second in the race—by only 11 minutes—behind the national champions. Was it now to be shut out of all hope for the winner’s circle?
Looking back on those tumultuous days, Shea reflects—only partly in jest—“When I thought the solar car was doomed, I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life.”
Solar vehicle returns
Happily for the long-range life plans of Shea and his fellow students, help was at hand. At the eleventh hour, the Toyota Corporation stepped forward to sponsor the race. The University was back in the race!
Project manager Sam Lenius, a senior majoring in electrical engineering, jokes about how he announced the revival to the group. “What are you doing this weekend? Nothing? Not nothing! Solar car is back!”
Since then, the team of about 30 students has spent an estimated 30,000-45,000 hours working on the car.
The University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project will give the public a sneak preview of its newest generation car from 2:30-3:45 p.m., Friday, May 9 in the courtyard east of Lind Hall, 207 Church St. S.E., Minneapolis. Those attending will have an opportunity to view the inner workings of the car and hear from members of the team about their upcoming race.
 This is the first public viewing of the car in preparation for the 2008 North American Solar Challenge, a 2,400-mile race from Dallas, Texas, to Calgary, Alberta, July 13-22. The University of Minnesota is one of only 26 international teams competing in designing, building and driving a solar-powered car in this year's cross-country event.
“Competitions like these are an important way to train the next generation of renewable energy experts,” said Dick Hemmingsen, director of the Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment. He stresses the benefit to the University of involving undergraduates in such complex, multi-faceted projects.
“Students are the engines that drive many of the University’s renewable energy research labs…starting out with projects such as these will allow them to become even more valuable contributors during the later stages of their academic careers,” he said.
Working on a project like the solar car, said Jacob Hanna, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, “is a whole lot of fun,” but it’s also serious business at a University that’s known for the excellence of its solar energy research.
 Tackling tough problem-solving
The undergraduate students meeting in an empty classroom in Akerman Hall one cold early spring evening probably didn’t think of themselves as anything so portentous as ‘valuable contributors.’ That’s only because they are absorbed in the sheer awesome coolness of their project. Their current vehicle, named Centaurus after the constellation of the same name, is still in final production in a St. Paul campus shop.
Centaurus, they explain, will have design modifications that should make it more comfortable for the driver. For one thing, the driver will be able to sit up. With its tiny ventilation slits and narrow, recumbent driver’s space, Borealis III could reach interior temperatures of 135 degrees. However, comfort and interior luxury are not the point. This is a racing car, designed to go the distance under power generated entirely by the array of solar cells delicately fixed to its exterior.
 “The trick is to regulate the speed to maximize the benefits of the available sunlight,” explains Lenius. A cloudy day in Minnesota is going to provide less charge than the glaring sun of the Texas plains, and the savvy team must know how to deal with both. Otherwise, the vehicle might face the ultimate humiliation—a dead battery in the middle of the race.
Weather forecasting is only one of the skills team members must master. Students are divided into four subgroups: aerodynamics, electrical design, mechanical systems and, of course, the design and fabrication of the all-important solar array.
 An educational experience like no other
Members of the solar car team say the education they get by working as part of the Solar Vehicle Project provides experiences they can’t get in their classes. “The interdisciplinary integrations,” are what Hanna calls the most useful part of the project. “Learning to organize a group of people and manage a timeline.”
For Emily Johnston, a senior majoring in electrical engineering, it’s the team effort. “It’s really cool to be part of a process,” she said, “I enjoy problem solving in groups.”
Watching “power flow” the first time he tested solar cells delighted Ryan Maclachlan, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, but he was surprised by something else. “The scope of interactions with people,” he said. “It doesn’t seem that there should be that much talk—but there is.”
For project manager Lenius, working on the Solar Vehicle Project has given him an unexpected benefit. Not only has he has improved his technical savvy, he has also improved his social skills. “I used to be introverted and awkward,” he said in mock humility. Then he squares his shoulders and, to the obvious enjoyment of his fellow students, transforms himself into a parody of a polished young professional as he intones, “My leadership experience in the solar car project has greatly improved my social skills and ability to lead people.”
 The team also has the never-failing pleasure of watching the reactions of bystanders when they take their odd-looking vehicle out in public. They can draw a crowd in minutes, but the gold standard, said Nick Simon, a junior majoring in aerospace engineering, is seeing “how many kids fall off their skateboards.”
Jeff Hammer, an instructor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, became the faculty advisor for the Solar Vehicle Project this year after long-time advisor and mechanical engineering professor Patrick Starr retired.
“It’s amazing to see how the students mature when they assume the responsibilities that go with the project,” Hammer said. “They beat down my door wanting to learn. It’s wonderful to teach under those conditions.”
Adapted from a story in the Spring/Summer 2008 issue of Inventing Tomorrow, a publication of the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology.
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