Vedant Agarwal was born in India and his childhood dream was to build a race car. When he realized that his dream could actually come true, he joined the Solar Car team in September 2005. He also respected the fact that Solar Car was the most professional organization on campus.

Vedant graduated in 2009 with a degree in mechanical engineering. During his time on the team, he worked as a mechanical engineer designing and analyzing the rear suspension. He raced in the 2007 World Solar Challenge. One of his favorite memories with the team was seeing the workspace for the first time. He also really enjoyed race crew initiation at the Big House. Of course, he can’t forget the numerous achievements on Continuum, such as the entire team’s lower surface layup session, getting the rear suspension installed, and watching the car drive for the first time.

What he misses most are the unique senses of humor of the race crew members and doing hands-on engineering work. Today, Vedant is beginning to pursue his MBA at the Indian School of Business. He comments about his experience on the team, “Solar car taught me how to be a leader, work in large team projects, become accountable for my work, and push myself beyond my comfort zone.” To the current team, he proclaims, “Dont be afraid to try new ideas and keep taking help from ex-team members.”

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In our twenty-two year history, the U-M Solar Car Team has built eleven vehicles. As much as we love each and every one of them and enjoy being surrounded by the rich history they embody, at some point we have to let them go – there just isn’t enough space in the Wilson Center to house our entire fleet. Therefore, the team tries to ensure that all of its vehicles eventually end up in museums so that the public can enjoy them and become interested in science and technology. A few weeks ago, another one of our vehicles took its final roll out of our workspace and was installed in its permanent home.

Continuum, built in 2007, is our ninth-generation vehicle. It was our first vehicle to feature our patented concentrator mirrors, our first three-wheeled car with a powered front wheel, and our first vehicle with a driver seated fully upright. The team was very excited about Continuum’s prospects in the 2007 World Solar Challenge, and was crushed when an accident occurred five minutes into the race. Through massive determination, the race crew worked through the night to rebuild Continuum and rallied to take seventh place in the competition. Continuum and its crew carried this fierce competitive spirit over to the 2008 North American Solar Challenge, where the team won its fourth national championship with a ten-hour margin of victory.

After Infinium was built in 2009, Continuum was retired from racing and was commissioned as a touring vehicle. It made numerous school appearances, and anchored our display at the North American International Auto Show for three years. However, once Infinium was retired in late 2010 and assumed the touring duties, Continuum was left with nothing to do but gather dust. To solve this problem, the team partnered with the Detroit Science Center – a 118,000 square foot science museum located in the heart of Detroit’s museum district. They are committed to inspiring and educating the public, and Continuum seemed like the perfect complement to the center’s hands-on exhibits, IMAX dome, and numerous educational programs.

A few weeks ago, Continuum was loaded into our trailer for the last time and driven into Detroit, where Rick Russell, Tom Mott, and the rest of the crew at the Science Center were excitedly waiting for us. They moved Continuum into their “Next Gen Fuels” exhibit, and carefully hung it from the ceiling for all to see. This morning, members of the team headed back to Detroit to put some final touches on the installation – this is the awesome result:

As exciting as this particular installation may be, it is not truly Continuum’s final resting place. Once Infinium is fully retired, the current plan is to install both vehicles in a slightly different location at the center, hanging nose-to-nose. We look forward to this project, and will be sure to post photos and updates on the blog when the momentous occasion arrives! Until then, we’re glad to see Continuum safely in its new home. We hope that it will inspire a new generation of scientists and engineers. Who knows – maybe a child will see this exhibit and be decide to eventually come to the University of Michigan and join the team!

This post was written by Interim Operations Director Aaron Frantz, who feels bad about finessing the fairings onto the vehicle using an angle grinder.

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In case you missed it, you can view the recorded Livestream of the General Team Meeting in the embedded player below, or at the following link.

Please comment with any feedback on the Livestream, good or bad, and we will do our best to improve the broadcast from week to week!

Last week, the Team had the opportunity to attend Altair’s 2010 Americas HyperWorks Technology Conference at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, MI. The conference brought together over 600 industry professionals and highlighted some really incredible simulation software used by a broad range of industries. During the first day of the conference, Steve Durbin, Santosh Kumar and I shared the presentation stage with keynote speakers from companies such as Ford, BAE Systems and Porsche. The presentation seemed to be very well received and we really enjoyed the opportunity to speak about the project and our uses of Altair’s software. We also gave a presentation on the third day of the conference in a session highlighting university research. Thank you to Altair and everyone at the conference who helped make this event possible!

Continuum displayed in front of the conference center

Last week the team was invited to attend the Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, hosted by the Center for Automotive Research.  Members of the team were able to sit in on presentations created by the people that are reshaping the auto industry.   Every major challenge that today’s automakers and suppliers face, from manufacturing to climate change, was discussed.  The team was also had the opportunity to meet and network with other conference attendees during the evening social hours.  Throughout the week, people stopped at the team’s display to see Continuum and to learn about the project. Once special visitor was Governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm.  Overall, the team members in Traverse City had a very productive week, gained insight into the future of the automotive industry, and met scores of interesting people.

(left to right) Steven Hechtman, Brian Pak, Julia Hawley, Governor Granholm, Chris Hilger,
Steve Durbin, David Kye, and Gabe Arroyo

Team members pose with Susan M. Cischke, Vice President of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering at the Ford Motor Company.

After a busy first half of the week in Traverse City, the team returned last Friday with some new team members to hold an educational day for local children.  Continuum was put on display at Traverse Motors Toyota for 5 hours so groups of local kids could learn about solar technology.  Throughout the day we had several visitors stop by and ask some great questions.  A couple of the kids even said they were going to join the team when they go to college.

Jeff Rogers explains how a solar car works  

The next day the team participated in the Cherry Festival Parade with the Traverse City Alumni Association.  The team was one of over 150 entries in the parade that lasted for over 3 hours.  The team was greeted by lots of waves and cheering as we passed the crowded streets.

Traverse City Alumni Semi

Philip Kim Hands out posters

Continuum in the Parade

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Early in the morning on July 4th, Continuum and five solar car team members headed to Manistee, Michigan for the town’s 4th of July parade. We met Jan ­­­­­­NewmanGraham and our good friend Chito Garcia and headed for the streets of Manistee.

The parade was exciting! Everyone in town was watching as we rolled by (Continuum rode on the bed of the trailer, since it was decomissioned to prepare Momentum to drive in Aruba). We were greeted by many Michigan fans along the route yelling “GO BLUE!” as we passed. We proudly represented Michigan when we passed by groups of Spartans chanting “Go Green. Go White.”

From Left to Right: David Kye, Julia Hawley, Steve Durbin, Jan NewmanGraham, Brian Pak, Blaine Riley, Chito Garcia

Blaine Riley waiting for the parade to start.

Thanks to Jan, David and Todd, and Suzanne Stevens for making this event possible.

From Manistee we traveled to Traverse City, Michigan for the Cherry Festival. We met our hosts, Scott and Kathy Monteith, and watched the fireworks from the balcony of their home.

In the morning we participated in the Hagerty Family Car Show, where we talked to a lot of Traverse City natives as well as tourists, or “fudgies” as the locals call them.

The team with Howard King, Michigan Football announcer for 34 years.

Being safely surrounded by Maize and Blue, we decided to take a picture with Sparty:

On Tuesday we had the honor of eating lunch with the Traverse City Rotary Club, and met some more Michigan Alumni that evening.

The team with our hosts, Kathy and Scott.

 

The April issue of Popular Mechanics featuring Continuum is now available online! Please visit the Popular Mechanics website to read about their experience driving Continuum, the winning vehicle from the 2008 North American Solar Challenge.

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The car I’m sitting in is so futuristic and so technically advanced that it would cost nearly a million dollars to duplicate. Yet this Jet Propulsion Lab on wheels lacks the basic features of even the humblest sedan: a radio, roll-down windows, a heater. I had to slither between the rails of a roll cage to access a cockpit so cramped that it feels as though I’m sitting upright in a Niagara Falls barrel.

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Click here to read the rest of the article from Popular Mechanics.

Photos from Popular Mechanics

As a team we have the pleasure of sharing our car and experience with many people, but it is not every day that the Executive Chairman of one of our biggest corporate supporters gets under the hood for a good look.

On August 18th the Solar Car Team visited the Ford World Headquarters for a reception with representatives from the Ford Motor Company and the University. Solar Car members mingled with Ford executives and University members sharing their experience on the team and stories from the race.

Both Dean Munson and Steven Hechtman thanked Ford for the support they have given the team over the history of the project and presented Ford with a framed photo of the team.

Bill Ford Jr. made a special appearance to the reception and was very interested in the project. Steve walked him through the systems in the car and told him about the innovations Continuum made. Mr. Ford asked a lot of questions and was impressed with the work that went into the project and how applicable the technology was to the automotive industry. It was very exciting for us to see that there was genuine interest and respect for our project throughout the company.

Steven Hechtman and Bill Ford Jr.

 

 

Steven Hechtman and Julia Hawley presenting Bill Ford Jr. with a picture of the team

We would like to thank all of our contacts at Ford for the support and for making this event happen. It was an honor to have the car on display at Ford. This project would not be possible without the in-kind and financial support that Ford provides.

 

A special thanks to Brad Simmons, Jim Vella, Scott Low, Ed Krause, and all of the other Ford representatives for their continued support and for making this event happen. Your help is invaluable.

Thank you also to Thomas Wojnowski for the fantastic pictures!

On Saturday August 16th, Continuum was on the roads again, but this time slowing cruising down Woodward Avenue in Detroit Michigan. Continuum participated in the 15th annual Woodward Dream Cruise, an event that attracts over 1.5 million people and more than 40,000 cars.

People spend the day sitting in lawn chairs lining the side of the road to witness the antique and exotic car cruise. We saw many cars ranging from old Mustangs to Lamborghinis, but I think I can safely say that we were the most unique and expensive car on the road.

The best part of the whole day was hearing people’s reactions as we drove by, “HOLY COW! IT’S A SPACESHIP!”

Steve Driving down Woodward Ave.
(Picture courtesy of Roman Halanski, Jr.)

 

Jeffery Ferman was confused when we stopped at the gas station to stretch our legs

Look at the Porsche checking us out!!!

The Dream Cruise was a great experience. We had so much fun walking next to the car and talking to the people on the streets. Thank you to all of the parents that waited for us as we slowly made our way. It was great to have fans along the way!

I hope that we will be able to participate again next year!

Go Fast! Go Smooth! Go Blue!