Maine Perspective Front Page
Two UMaine Solar Vehicles Expected at the Tour de Sol Starting Line This Year
In the years to come, sophomore Mark Stanley of Searsport plans to have a job related to his degree - and an electric car to get him there.
"I joined the University of Maine Solar Vehicle Team because I have always liked the idea of an electric car," says Stanley, a sociology major. "One thing that I have decided is that my first car is going to be an electric car."
Stanley is one of 10 students from different academic disciplines who are helping design and build a solar-powered car, dubbed UMO - Unidentified Moving Object.
The UMO, being constructed from the ground up using a truck frame and suspension, and a lightweight shell, will be at the starting line of the American Tour de Sol 2000 in New York City this spring with the Solar Black Bear, UMaine's first solar-powered vehicle.
In its first competition last year at the American Tour de Sol, the Solar Black Bear took two first-place awards in the Solar Commuter Class and in the Solar Fraction category. This semester, the race is on to repeat history in the upcoming rally and competition from New York to Washington, D.C., May 12-18, before an expected global audience of 200 million.
"In this project, students gain an understanding of how a solar-powered system works, including the simplicity of components that come together," says Paul Van Steenberghe, a mathematics instructor and Solar Vehicle Team coach. "They also learn a lot about teamwork, interpersonal communication, and promotional skills like writing letters for fund raising. These are the tougher lessons - real world lessons."
Van Steenberghe and the campus group he advises, the Student Environmental Action Coalition, built a solar-powered three-wheel bicycle two years ago. Their interest in developing an even more sophisticated solar-powered vehicle as the cornerstone of a sustainable transportation system led them to the Bio-Resource Engineering Program.
"We were one of the few schools that ever prepared a solar vehicle and won in the same year," says Ben Dresser, laboratory coordinator for Bio-Resource Engineering who, with Van Steenberghe, teaches and advises the students working on the Solar Vehicle Team. "While many competitors built cars from the ground up, creating everything from brakes and suspension to steering, our job was to combine reliable, off-the-shelf parts that didn't normally come together."
The Solar Black Bear is a 1987 Chevy pickup, donated by Bangor Hydro-Electric, that was converted into a solar-electric, zero-emissions vehicle. In addition to the Tour de Sol, the Solar Black Bear was driven daily from May 1-Nov. 1 to collect data on its efficiency. In those six months, the solar vehicle traveled 3,500 miles, 40 percent of which were "free" miles, provided by energy from the sun.
The UMO will be a more car-like vehicle, with more agility and power from 52 batteries and 14 solar panels, compared to the Black Bear's 24 batteries and 12 solar panels. It is estimated that the UMO will have the ability to travel 200 miles on a single charge.
Like last year, the students are not only designing and building the new solar vehicle and updating the Solar Black Bear, but they also are undertaking fund-raising activities and promotional campaigns. The students need to raise at least $20,000 to buy the materials, solar panels and batteries needed for the UMO. They raised $16,000 last year to get the Solar Black Bear ready for competition. Team members paid their own expenses to participate in the Tour de Sol, sleeping in tents along the race route to save money.
"This is not only a good program but another way we can integrate students into activities to enhance their education," says Bruce Wiersma, dean of the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture.