Team PrISUm, Iowa State’s solar car team, has been working to put the finishing touches on this year’s car. In July, the team will be participating in a three-week solar car race from Rochester, N.Y., to St. Paul, Minn., its longest journey yet.
PrISUm races every two years, allowing one year for design and one year for construction between the competitions. Racing against solar car teams from across the world on a new route will be a challenge, but the advances the team has made in the electrical and mechanical systems of the car have put them in a good place.
“I think we’ve got a good shot at being in the top four,” said project director Evan Stumpges, senior in mechanical engineering. The club will take 10 to 15 members on the trip to New York for the start of the race. The competition starts at the Monticello Motor Club with a three-day inspection and a race on the private racetrack. After this, the crew will depart from Rochester on the open public highways and roads for the main part of the race. The route they will be taking is, in part, designed by Wade Johanns, a former member of the ISU Solar Car Team.
For more about the ISU Solar Car Team read the Iowa State Daily article.