When you hear Matt Goldstein’s name on the solar car team, one of the first things that pops into your head is “Strategy.” Growing up in Lincolnshire, Illinois, Matt Goldstein was competitive in both Tae Kwon Do and Brazilian Jiujitsu.

“That’s why I joined the strategy division. I’m a competitive person and the strategy division is the most competitive group on the team. Strategy’s specific job is to win the race. That’s what hooked me.”

As a Computer Science Engineer major, Matt has a unique skillset as a strategist. On the American Solar Challenge in 2012, Matt designed the software for the race which helped strategy set speeds for Quantum.

“Historically I’m one of the few Head Strategists on the team that’s majoring in Computer Science Engineering. Many of the past Head Strategists knew a lot about the strategy side of things, but not as much of the software side. I think that’s something unique about me, that I helped design the software myself.”

Looking forward, Matt anticipates many challenges for the World Solar Challenge. Many people acknowledge the engineering challenges of designing a four-wheeled car, but Matt’s main challenge is to accommodate the fourth wheel during the race. When asked what was his favorite part of being on the team:

“My favorite time on the team was running alongside Quantum during ASC 2012. Seeing all that hard work paying off… it was unbelievable. But all I’m thinking about now is WSC and winning the race.”

“Move over, Arnold and Kevin. In addition to Terminator 2 and Dancing With the Wolves, this holiday season’s video sales herald another action-packed film… The Making of Sunrunner, GM Sunrayce USA.”

- Mona Qureshi, The Michigan Daily, 1991

As we continue the construction of Generation, we look back on the years of knowledge that we rely on to construct our cars. The University of Michigan Solar Car Team began its legacy of winning with its very first car: Sunrunner. Built only a year before the inaugural 1990 Sunrayce, Sunrunner won first place and went on to place third in the World Solar Challenge.

 

Take a blast into the past and check out this Michigan Daily article on Sunrunner! Also, watch a 1990 documentary on the historic team below! For more information on the team and the car, head on over to their site: http://solarcar.engin.umich.edu/pastteams/sunrunner/index.html

 

 

 

Our story begins in early 2011 – Quantum was being constructed and the team was making its annual appearance at the North American International Auto Show. That was where Bryan Mazor was first introduced to the University of Michigan Solar Car Team.

“I was at the auto show – I go every year and I remember meeting Jeff, who was on the team at the time. That’s where I first found out about the team.”

Bryan joined the team soon-after and he quickly adjusted to the fast-pace nature of the team as he soon became the interim strategy director. Fast-forward to 2012 when Bryan was elected Strategy Director.

“Some of my favorite Michigan Solar Car moments come from the American Solar Challenge. The 2nd day of the race, there were crazy thunderstorms. All the other teams had stopped to wait for the rain to pass, but we kept going, speeding at 47 MPH. The best moment was when we burst through the clouds and saw the sun. Of course that leads to the second best moment, when we beat the competition by over 10 hours – that was beautiful.”

“But my absolute favorite part about the Michigan Solar Car Team – the project. How many 21 year olds even get the opportunity to do what we do? Not many! We’re building solar-powered vehicles that go over 100 MPH. It’s mind blowing.”

Bryan is currently UMSolar’s Crew Chief for the 2013 World Solar Challenge.

 

Every two years, the Michigan Solar Car Team builds a brand new model for races in the United States and Australia.  So you might be wondering – what happens to the previous generations of vehicles once they have retired from competition?

The most recently raced vehicles go on tour, attending events such as the (North American International Auto Show, South by Southwest and the Traverse City Management Briefing Seminars).  They are also used for educational presentations for schools and sponsor organizations.

But what happens next? Sometimes our cars will attend sponsor events, but after that, our cars go to museums across the country, creating unique and interesting exhibits that promote the use of solar energy. In this way, the team and sponsors continue to receive recognition for their accomplishments and contributions long after the races have ended.  Michigan solar cars are currently on display in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, California, and Washington.  As the summer travel season begins, be on the lookout for Michigan Solar Cars around the country!

 

1990 – Sunrunner**	The Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn, MI
1993 – Maize & Blue**	Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL
1995 – Solar Vision	Great Lakes Science Center, Cleveland, OH
1997 – Wolverine	Wilson Student Team Project Center, Ann Arbor, MI
2001 – M-Pulse**	Petersen Automotive Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2005 – Momentum**	LeMay – America’s Car Museum, Tacoma, WA
2007 – Continuum**	Detroit Science Center, Detroit, MI
2009 – Infinium**	Heritage Museums and Gardens, Sandwich, MA

 ** Denotes National Champions

Want a Michigan Solar Car in a museum near you? Let us know! We’re looking for a home for Quantum and our top sponsorship level includes keeping Generation!

This week we finally interviewed the business division. Because I usually conduct our interviews I handed off the reins to fellow business member Ian Sullivan. Ian is our public relations director and currently a rising junior. He interviewed Kyle, a rising junior in the AOSS department and of course me, a rising IOE sophomore.

Q: What does your division do?
Pavan: The business division is in charge of the finances of the team. We work with our sponsors and our fans through many different outlets.

Q: What do each of you do on the team?
Kyle: I create the media for our team. I do the YouTube videos and coordinating them. I’ve been editing these interview videos as well as making our weekly update videos.

Pavan: I pretty much share my excitement with others. I work a lot with our sponsors and potential sponsors as well as our fans. I’m the guy in charge of these interviews, as well as our blog posts, Facebook posts, Twitter, etc.

Q: Although our team is broken up into different divisions, teamwork is essential in building a cohesive vehicle. Which other division do you work with the most?
Pavan: I’ve worked with many different divisions – when we’re not in business hours, I’ll help sand molds for Ops and do other things. I’ve most recently worked a lot with Micro and Strategy – talking to Molex and Saturn Flex, both great sponsors, and being the intermediary between our team and our sponsors.

Kyle: With these interview videos, I’ve worked with every single division. It’s a great way to learn about the team. When I’m not making videos, I’ve helped the mech division with carbon lay-ups and sanding molds.

Q: What is the best thing about being on solar car?
Pavan: That’s a difficult questions, just because there’s so much to pick from! If I had to narrow it down, I’d pick two: the experience that I’ve gained from being on solar car and the people I get to work with.

Kyle: Like Pavan said, it’s really cool how there are so many different people that are great at so many different things. It’s great to see how much knowledge each person has, and how each person is in charge of something they’ve specialized in.

Q: Ok, here’s a non-solar car question – what is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
Pavan: Chocolate chip cookie dough!

Kyle: I love Superman. It has all these different colors, which makes it so much fun to eat.

Classes have concluded – finals have been passed and that means only one thing at the solar car team: Solar Summer! To kick things off, Kyle and Pavan organized a kick-off BBQ and ultimate frisbee game.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Starting Monday the team will have all hands on deck in preparation for the World Solar Challenge this Fall. Working with sponsors such as Roush, Pratt and Whitney, Ford, GM, and Excel, the team will continue plug work and carbon layups on Generation to create a world class solar car.

Follow our path on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Go Blue!

The World Solar Challenge is only 168 days away and we’re hard at work on Generation! We’d like to take a moment to thank a few of our sponsors: Ford Motor Company and Excel Pattern Works for their help with routing our plugs and Coastal Enterprises for our tooling board!

 

We’re almost done with the Winter term here at the University of Michigan… which means Solar Summer! Look out for news of our Mock Race and other summer events to get a chance to meet Generation in person!

Google “Solar Car” – what do you see? We’re getting more attention now more than ever as a solar car team – and it makes sense. We have seven national championships under our belt and we’re well-known on the world stage.

But we build more than solar cars.

We engineer vehicles. The solar array is just a part of the car, but our other components, the aerodynamics, the battery, are equally as important. We design a world-class car that is efficient, low-weight, and is powered by the sun.

We were recently featured in a Wired article which outlines some of the steps we take when developing a world-class solar vehicle.

http://www.wired.com/autopia/2013/04/u-of-m-solar-2013/

 

Ann Arbor, MI – The University of Michigan Solar Car team announced the design of its new vehicle today to compete in the World Solar Challenge (WSC). Michigan’s 2013 vehicle: Freedum, recently changed from Generation, will have four wheels and an upright seating position to account for new WSC regulations. The design will feature an American Flag and a large picture of Stephen Colbert. Freedum, a play on one of Colbert’s favorite words, also continues a decade-long tradition of car names ending in ‘UM.’

When asked about the recent events, Eric Hausman, project manager of the Michigan-based solar vehicle team, said, “As a 7-time national championship team, we’re extremely proud of where we are today. We’re also extremely proud of Mr. Colbert, who in his own right is a national champion, so it simply made sense to put his head on our car.”

The move came about after several team members joined DORAK (Do Random Acts of Kindness). “We thought it would just be a nice thing to do.” said Pavan Naik, member of the UMSolar business division. “Mr. Colbert is a symbol of the American spirit and to have his face on our car… it says that the American spirit never stops. Just like our solar car,” stated Naik.

Recently the the team announced its “Buy-A-Cell” campaign, where supporters of the team can purchase a cell on Freedum for $250.

“Our goal is to be the first team from the Colbert Nation to win the World Solar Challenge” said Hausman.

UMsolar is an entirely student-run organization that designs and builds solar electric vehicles. The team races both nationally and internationally. Since its establishment in 1990, the team has built 11 vehicles, won the American Solar Challenge seven times, and placed third in the World Solar Challenge five times. To their disappointment, they have not appeared on the Colbert Report. The team is recognized as the most successful team in North America.

“The Colbert Report” is produced by Jon Stewart’s Busboy Productions, Inc. in association with Colbert’s Spartina Productions, Inc. Stewart and Colbert are the executive producers with Meredith Bennett, Richard Dahm and Tom Purcell as co-executive producers. None of them formally endorse umsolar. But it would be pretty cool. Jim Hoskinson is the director. Lisa Leingang is the executive in charge of production for COMEDY CENTRAL.

UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who participated in our April Fools’ Joke!

With over 3,000 submissions for our drawing contest last year we knew that we had to continue the tradition this year! Last Monday we announced the launch of our photography contest. Students from K-12 all over Michigan will be able to take a picture of where they would like to see a solar car! We’re expecting a lot of submissions and we can’t wait to see them. Check out the contest details for more information: www.umsolar.com/photo_contest

Schools can also reach out to the University of Michigan Solar Car team for school visits – we love talking to our fellow students!  Email us for more details: solarcar@umich.edu

We also recently announced the launch of our Buy-A-Cell campaign, which offers the opportunity to own a cell on our new car, Generation! Choose a cell you would like to own from our solar array and make it yours! Details: www.umsolar.com/cell

And as always, please feel free to tweet us (@umsolarcarteam), drop a comment on our Facebook page (fb.me/umsolar) or email us at solarcar@umich.edu!