The University of Michigan Solar Car Team is a

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non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

Ann Arbor Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

. It is the most successful solar car team in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

, having won the North American Solar Challenge (NASC) nine times (out of a possible twelve). The team has also placed third in the

World Solar Challenge The World Solar Challenge (WSC), since 2013 named Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, is an international event for solar powered cars driving 3000 kilometres through the Australian outback. With the exception of a four-year gap between ...

(WSC) six times, and got second place in 2017. Six of its former vehicles are on display in museums in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, including the Henry Ford Museum, the Museum of Science and Industry in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, and the Boston Museum of Science.

Composition and history

Founded in 1989 by Bill Kaliardos, an undergraduate student in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, the University of Michigan Solar Car Team is one of the largest and most successful student projects at the university. The inaugural 1990 team, which formed in 1989, was eventually managed by Susan Fancy, with Professor and Dean Gene Smith serving as the team's Faculty Advisor. Gene Smith was also Advisor for many other U-M Solar Car Teams to follow. The teams have built eleven

solar cars A solar car is a solar vehicle for use on public roads or race tracks. Solar vehicles are electric vehicles that use self-contained solar cells to power themselves fully or partially from sunlight. Solar vehicles typically contain a rechargeable ...

and competed in 15 major races. Although it draws heavily on

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

students from the

College of Engineering Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles to the professional practice of engineering. It includes an initial education (bachelor's and/or master's degree), and any advanced education and specializations that ...

, students from any

academic discipline An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

or year of study are allowed to join the team. Students have also come from the College of LS&A, the

Ross School of Business The Stephen M. Ross School of Business, also known as Michigan Ross, is the business school of the University of Michigan, a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Founded in 1924, the school is ranked among the best business schools i ...

, and the Stamps School of Art & Design. In 1990, the team's first car, Sunrunner, finished in first place in the inaugural GM

Sunrayce USA The American Solar Challenge (ASC), previously known as the North American Solar Challenge and Sunrayce, is a solar car race across the United States. In the race, teams from colleges and universities throughout North America design, build, test ...

, and third place overall (first place in Student category) in the 1990 World Solar Challenge in Australia. Core team members of the 1990 team included Susan Fancy, Paula Finnegan, David Noles,

Chetan Maini Chetan Maini (born 11 March 1970) is a Co-Founder and Vice Chairman at SUN Mobility and a Indian business magnate in the electric car industry. He is best known for building India's first electric car, REVA, and as the Founder of Reva Electric ...

(Maini went on to become the founder of Reva which is one of the major electric car companies in India), David Bell, Jef Pavlat, Andy Swiecki, Chris Gregory, and many more. The second generation team built its car, Maize & Blue, and competed in Sunrayce 93 (the predecessor to the North American Solar Challenge) finishing in first place in the national race, and 11th in the

. After 1993's races, all projects have run on a 2-year cycle. During those two years, the team is typically anywhere from 50 to 100 students. The vast majority of these students volunteer their time freely, although in the past a small percentage opt to receive credit via the university's

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program An Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program provides funding and/or credit to undergraduate students who volunteer for faculty-mentored research projects pertaining to all academic disciplines. Participating universities Universities involve ...

(or UROP). A race crew of approximately 20 students is selected to race the vehicle in competition. These students' function is similar to that of a pit crew in professional

auto racing Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

. As of 2016, UM's solar car project has won the North American championship nine times.

Vehicles by year

*1990: ''Sunrunner'' - Driven by Paula Finnegan and David Noles for GM Sunrayce: 1st place; WSC: 3rd place. On permanent display at

The Henry Ford The Henry Ford (also known as the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation and Greenfield Village, and as the Edison Institute) is a history museum complex in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn, Michigan, United States. The museum collection contain ...

. *1993: '' Maize & Blue'' - Sunrayce USA: 1st place; WSC: 11th place. On permanent display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. *1995: ''Solar Vision'' - GM Sunrayce: DNF (did not finish). On permanent display at the Great Lakes Science Center. *1997: ''Wolverine'' - GM Sunrayce: 6th place. *1999: ''MaizeBlaze'' - GM Sunrayce: 17th place; WSC: 9th place. *2001: ''M-Pulse'' - ASC: 1st place; WSC: 3rd place. On display at the Peterson Automotive Museum *2003: ''Spectrum'' - ASC: DNQ (did not qualify) *2005: ''Momentum'' - NASC: 1st place; WSC: 3rd place. *2007
''Continuum''
- WSC: 7th place in the Challenge class after recovering from a crash on the first day of racing. *2008: ''Continuum'' - NASC: 1st place. *2009: ''Infinium'' - WSC: 3rd place. *2010: ''Infinium'' - ASC: 1st place. *2011: ''Quantum'' - WSC: 3rd place. *2012: ''Quantum'' - ASC: 1st place. *2013: ''Generation'' - WSC: 9th place. *2014: ''Quantum'' - ASC: 1st place. *2015: ''Quantum'' - Abu Dhabi Solar Challenge: 1st place. *2015: ''Aurum'' - WSC: 4th place. *2016: ''Aurum'' - ASC: 1st place. *2017: ''Novum'' - WSC: 2nd place. (Best ever finish for an American student team) *2018: ''Novum'' - ASC: 2nd place. *2019: ''Electrum'' - BWSC: 2nd place.

Publications

The team has been featured in the following local, national, and international media: *

IEEE Spectrum ''IEEE Spectrum'' is a magazine edited by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The first issue of ''IEEE Spectrum'' was published in January 1964 as a successor to ''Electrical Engineering''. The magazine contains peer-reviewe ...

: "Sun Kings Cross the Outback." G. Zorpette, Feb 2002, pp 40–46. *Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology International *

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

(2005
12

3
* NHRA article (2006)
Grubnic compares kinetics with the U. of Michigan solar car teamCars.comLakeshore Weekly NewsSAE International (April 2010)
*The New York Times *Wire

*Discovery Channel (The Solar Car portion starts at 8:40) *Seeke

External links

UMSolarUMSolar Race BlogNorth American Solar Challenge (NASC)World Solar Challenge (WSC)
{{University of Michigan, studentlife University of Michigan Solar car racing Non-profit organizations based in Michigan Organizations based in Ann Arbor, Michigan 1989 establishments in Michigan