Student-led team shines in North American Solar Challenge

The U-M solar car Team Momentum recently captured its fourth national championship, finishing first in the North American Solar Challenge (NASC). The 10-day event concluded July 27 at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, and gave U-M its fourth championship—the most of any university since the competition began in 1990.

Driver Max Ross keeps his cool as the Team Momentum car prepares to leave Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, during the the North American Solar Challenge. The challenge, the fourth won by a U-M team since the competition began in 1990, ended July 27 in Calgary, Alberta. (Photo by Stefano Paltera)

Team Momentum's final time was 53 hours, 59 minutes. The University of Minnesota finished second with a time of 54 hours, 11 minutes. The 2,500-mile race, which began July 17 in Austin, Texas, was the longest NASC to date, traveling through six states, three provinces and two countries.

"I congratulate everyone who helped bring another North American Solar Challenge victory to Michigan," President Mary Sue Coleman says. "This success represents some of the best qualities of the University of Michigan: Cooperation among different schools and departments, support from industry and alumni, and perhaps most of all, the talent and dedication of our students. The University community is thrilled and extremely proud of this great team that defeated some very capable opponents to win this race."

Two decisive moments in the close race led to the victory, team members say.

"Really for us to recoup the lead, out of Winnipeg we encountered some very strong winds," says Michael Brackney, project manager. "Our strategy pushed that to the edge and we pushed in front of all the other vehicles."

Another moment came July 26 when, at the 11th hour, the team compiled an emergency 55-page appeal to dispute 40 minutes of penalties for alleged speeding violations. The brief included in-car data, graphs, charts and maps to prove that the car at no time had exceeded the speed limit.

Team Momentum submitted the brief at 7 p.m., and three hours later judges announced they had retracted all but four minutes in penalties. Team Momentum started the final leg with a crucial 11 minute, 49 second lead over Minnesota.

Students on Team Momentum have been designing, fine-tuning and promoting the car—an eighth-generation model—for two years.

"We are proud of the engineering and other U-M students who led this year's solar car team to victory in Calgary," says Ronald Gibala, interim dean of the College of Engineering. "Team Momentum spent two years perfecting this vehicle, and it's wonderful to see their hard work and dedication rewarded."

The team expects to compete in the World Solar Challenge (WSC) in September in Australia. U-M teams twice have placed third in the WSC, which includes industry and university teams.

"This car built by Team Momentum is the product of some of the brightest student minds at the University," says Gary Herrin, interim dean for undergraduate education. "We are excited that they are getting the acknowledgment they deserve after all the hard work and dedication of the past two years."

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Natural Resources Canada, DOE National Renewable Energy Laboratory, TransAlta, University of Calgary, CSI Wireless, AMD, and Manitoba Transportation and Government Services sponsored the challenge.