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 Cover Story
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  Winning on and off the trackIowa State’s solar car, PrISUm Phoenix, cruised to yet another impressive finish this year, but this time on a different track. At the Formula Sun Grand Prix, held May 19–25 at Heartland Park, Topeka, Kansas, Team PrISUm posted a fourth-place finish in a race where continuous laps rather than long-distance miles captured the prize. Fourteen teams participated in the three-day event. Winners were decided on most laps completed around a 2.1-mile track, a distinct change in pace from last year’s long distance stint of 1,424 miles during Sunrayce 1999, where Iowa State finished in fifth place, the highest of any Iowa State solar car. This first-ever, Indy-style closed track event was a unique learning experience for members. It initiated newer Team PrISUm racers into the discipline and excitement of solar car racing, and it opened up unexpected challenges for the more experienced. “Whether it was changing a tire or drivers or just getting through a pit stop as fast as possible—we had to think about speed a little more than usual,” said Ben Nimmergut, assistant director of Team PrISUm and an ME student. Formula Sun also served as valuable testing ground for Team PrISUm’s next major event—the American Solar Challenge, a cross-country marathon stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles to take place in July 2001. According to Team PrISUm director and ME student Nick Mohr, the American Solar Challenge will likely be “the longest and most challenging race in the world, and Formula Sun will be used as a qualifying event for this race.” Currently, Team PrISUm is constructing its sixth solar car, PrISUm Odyssey, scheduled to be ready by March 2001. After clocking in 3,000 miles and contesting in two major races, Phoenix was officially retired. Off the track, Team PrISUm is busy winning over Iowans to the cause for solar energy. The second week of May, officially declared by Governor Vilsack as “Alternative Energy Week,” took Team PrISUm to classrooms, companies, malls, and community events across 15 counties in Iowa. During the summer, 20 Team PrISUm members covered 1,600 miles across Iowa as part of an eight-day SunRun 2000 tour. The team visited small towns, community gatherings, county fairs, the Iowa Renewable Energy Expo, and the Iowa State Fair. The members sparked interest in the field of engineering, solar car construction and operation, solar cell technology, and alternative energy sources |
