astronomy

University of Michigan Solar Car Team

University of Michigan Solar Car Team is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand University of Michigan Solar Car Team rather than just read about it. In short: The University of Michigan Solar Car Team is an engineering project team at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor that designs, builds, and races some of the world's most advanced solar-electric vehicles. Having won the North American Solar Challenge (NASC) ten times (out of a possible thirteen), the team is regarded as the most successful in North America.

Key takeaways

University of Michigan Solar Car Team belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect University of Michigan Solar Car Team to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of University of Michigan Solar Car Team from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The University of Michigan Solar Car Team is an engineering project team at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor that designs, builds, and races some of the world's most advanced solar-electric vehicles. Having won the North American Solar Challenge (NASC) ten times (out of a possible thirteen), the team is regarded as the most successful in North America. Internationally, they placed third in the World Solar Challenge (WSC) six times and placed second in 2017 – the best ever achieved by an American collegiate team. Many of the team's 16 vehicles are on display in museums in the United States and abroad.

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 and competed in 15 major races. Although it draws heavily on undergraduate students from the College of Engineering, students from any academic discipline 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, 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, 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 (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 World Solar Challenge. 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 125 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 (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. As of 2024, UM's solar car project has won the North American championship ten times, and had 7 podium finishes at the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge.

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 Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn. 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 in Cleveland. 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 in Los Angeles. 2003: Spectrum - ASC: DNQ (did not qualify) 2005: Momentum - NASC: 1st place;WSC: 3rd place.On display at the Lemay Automotive Museum in Tacoma, WA. 2007: Continuum - WSC: 7th place in the Challenge class after recovering from a crash on the first day of racing.On display at the Michigan Science Center in Detroit. 2008: Continuum - NASC: 1st place. 2009: Infinium - WSC: 3rd place. On display at the University of Michigan – Flint. 2010: Infinium - ASC: 1st place. 2011: Quantum - WSC: 3rd place. On display at Prince Alfred College in Adelaide, Australia. 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: 3rd place. On display at the Roush Automotive Collection in Livonia, MI. 2022: Aevum - Michigan Sun Run 2023: Astrum - BWSC: 4th place. 2024: Astrum - ASC: 1st place. 2025: Millennium

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

IEEE Spectrum: "Sun Kings Cross the Outback." G. Zorpette, Feb 2002, pp 40–46. Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Technology International MSNBC (2005) 1,2, 3 NHRA article (2006): Grubnic compares kinetics with the U. of Michigan solar car team Cars.com Russian Automobile magazine Lakeshore Weekly News U-M News Service Popular Mechanics SAE International (April 2010) The New York Times Wired [1] Discovery Channel (The Solar Car portion starts at 8:40) Seeker [2]

References

External links UMSolar UMSolar Race Blog North American Solar Challenge (NASC) World Solar Challenge (WSC)

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with University of Michigan Solar Car Team

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what University of Michigan Solar Car Team claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to University of Michigan Solar Car Team before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about University of Michigan Solar Car Team ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of University of Michigan Solar Car Team

In research: University of Michigan Solar Car Team appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses University of Michigan Solar Car Team in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: University of Michigan Solar Car Team is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1989 establishments in Michigan, Non-profit organizations based in Michigan, Organizations based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for University of Michigan Solar Car Team outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “University of Michigan Solar Car Team” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study University of Michigan Solar Car Team in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what University of Michigan Solar Car Team means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain University of Michigan Solar Car Team out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is University of Michigan Solar Car Team in simple terms?

Why does University of Michigan Solar Car Team matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study University of Michigan Solar Car Team?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on University of Michigan Solar Car Team.