I’m from Arlington Heights, IL.  Before getting to Michigan and before I had even heard about the Solar Car Team, I knew I needed to find a team-based engineering project to join.   You see, In high school I was on a F.I.R.S.T. Robotics team,  Team #111 Wildstang, and until my first Monday night General Team Meeting, Wildstang was the coolest team I had been a part of.  When I first arrived in Ann Arbor, I wanted to be a mentor for a F.I.R.S.T. Robotics team in the area, mainly because I had decided to focus my academic career in the humanities but didn’t want to lose touch with engineering and the competitive team atmosphere I’d enjoyed so much with robotics.  And so, the fall of my freshman year I went to a Monday night meeting to learn more about the team.  I joined the team that night.  I dabbled in the different divisions until it became clear that the Operations Division needed the most attention.  The Ops slowly grew; we had a team of students who would meet regularly to contact potential sponsors as we tried to secure supplies and resources for upcoming domestic events and the World Solar Challenge in Australia.

When Race Crew selection for the 2007 World Solar Challenge (WSC) came around, I was selected to be part of Continuum’s Race Crew and help the Ops crew plan the logistical effort involved in moving our people and goods to, within, and from Australia.  It was then that I talked more and more with 2005 Ops Director Maggie Hayes, who became a wonderful mentor throughout my time on Race Crew.   As the logistics lead, I planned, a lot.  While no amount of planning could have mentally prepared us for what happened on day one of the 2007 WSC when Continuum crashed, our team nonetheless remained focused.  Continuum was up and running the next day thanks to our team’s steadfast work ethic, the willingness of well-placed strangers to lend a helping hand, and the support of friends and family who were literally following the race or doing so half way around the world.

During the two years I spent on Solar Car I learned a lot of things that you won’t find on my transcript.  Like how to ask people for money, a skill I went on to use my senior year when I joined the board of and fundraised for the Latino Students Organization, doubling the previous year’s budget.  I also learned how to get free stuff, a skill I used immediately after my time on the team to send a group of Michigan students to a conference in New York City.  Those skills are all very useful and in one way, shape, or form I’ll continue to improve them throughout my life.  However, the most important take-away are the teammates and mentors I met.   One person is both, Chito Garcia has been an unwavering advocate for Michigan Solar Car teams for several decades, his experience as a mentor and dedication as a teammate made him one of our team’s greatest assets.

Racing is exciting and glamorous, but at the end of the day, my fondest memories involve long hours of cold-calling strangers in a small trailer located outside the Wilson Center, the drive to the workspace while playing imaginary instruments, and meetings at the overcrowded house on 5^thand Madison.  Although my Solar Car Team days are behind me, the friends I met on the team remain an important part of my life.  From running marathons to globetrotting, I have had and will continue to have trusty old friends at my side who I met on solar car.

Michigan’s tradition of excellence is epitomized in the Solar Car Team, and still, it is common to get wrapped up in the challenges that face us throughout our time on the team.  Each new team gains a generation of knowledge and experience, and it shows.  My advice to the current team members and future teams is to question your predecessors, challenge their decisions, and improve on their work.  Oh, and forever Go Blue!

After graduating from Michigan in 2009 with degrees in Political Science and Spanish I moved to Washington, DC for graduate school to study foreign affairs at Georgetown University.  I currently work for the U.S. Department of State where I focus on public diplomacy initiatives for youth audiences around the world.

This post and all captions were written by former team member, Roxanna Vigil.

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Jeff Rogers finished his education in Ann Arbor only two years ago, but he hasn’t been disconnected from the Solar Car team yet. Jeff was an alumni mentor in this past fall’s World Solar Challenge (WSC) as well as the 2010 American Solar Challenge (ASC). What he misses most is “working with such a tightly knit group of people hell-bent on winning. It isn’t nearly as fun working for a real company.”

Jeff grew up in Rochester Hills, Michigan and studied computer science engineering receiving a Bachelor’s degree in 2008 and a Master’s in 2010. He joined the Solar Car team immediately during his freshmen year because he had so much fun with FIRST robotics in high school and because he marveled at the sound of a solar car competition (who doesn’t?). While he was new to the team, he worked on the micro-electrical system and figured out a rear-view camera. By 2007, he was in charge of the micro-electrical system and had started to redesign everything besides the rear-view camera. In 2009, he maintained his technical role as the lead micro-electrical engineer and was also a senior leader.

Jeff raced in WSC 2007, NASC 2008, and WSC 2009 as well as the two in which he mentored. One of his favorite moments was pulling Continuum out of its trailer for the first time in Darwin, and since the solar concentrators were kept confidential, he remembers that the reaction from the competitors was priceless. Moreover, he recalls, “I think the best part of any competition was being with all of the other teams in the pits before the race. In 2008 we all rallied together to help out Oregon State get their very first solar car running. It was great to work with people from other teams with a common goal.”

Today, Jeff is developing software for SpaceX. He believes that the technical challenges from Solar Car actually overlapp a lot with his work, and he felt that the teamwork experience was invaluable. He was very impressed with the latest race crew even though many of the members were rookies. To the next generation, he shares this advice: “Don’t take the competition so seriously that you don’t enjoy it.”

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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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I’m from Okemos, Michigan.  I graduated in December 2009 in Industrial & Operations Engineering with a minor in music.  I joined Solar Car in the spring of 2006, which was my 2^nd semester at the University.  I was majoring in engineering, but all of my extracurricular activities were music related: Michigan Marching Band, pep bands, campus bands, etc.  I decided to get involved in something more applicable to my major, and picked Solar Car due to their outstanding past record and their quest to be the best in the World.

I joined the Operations Division and eventually became Operations Director for WSC 2007.  For NASC 2008 I was Operations Director and also got the opportunity to be one of the Solar Car drivers.

My all time favorite memory was when we approached the finish line in Calgary during NASC 2008.  I was driving the solar car and there were hundreds of people along the sides of the road cheering us on (I had no idea so many people even knew about the race!).  Lead and Chase pulled away from me and at first I didn’t know what was happening because I didn’t realize we were already at the finish line.  Then all of a sudden my entire team was running alongside of me as we crossed the finish line and won the National Championship.

Like many alumni, the thing I miss the most is the people.  After the crash in 2007 many of us returned for the 2008 race and became a pretty close group.  We were a smaller team so people really had to help out other divisions to get everything accomplished.  At one point Steve was the only other driver and Richard was my only Ops person.  A lot of people, especially Mike & Sarah, stepped in and helped me get everything done.  There aren’t that many organizations out there that cause you to spend that much time with people and literally trust them with your life.  I miss that.

I felt like the 2008 team went through a lot, culminating in the week before we left for Texas to start the race (I’m sure everyone on that team remembers that week and remembers how awful it was).  The fact that we all came together and not only won the race by a gap of ten hours but also won the Teamwork Award… I felt like that was really telling of everything our team and our car had been through and could do.

I am currently a production manager for Reckitt Benckiser.  I recently moved from Fort Worth, TX where we make Mucinex, to St. Louis, MO where my lines make mainly Woolite, Jet Dry, Finish, Lysol, and Old English.  Being on the Solar Car Team gave me experience in people management and team building that you don’t find in the classroom.  I think this gave me a jump start on my career and made me more comfortable being in a management position straight out of college.

Each team pushes the boundaries and sets new expectations for themselves and future teams.  Every team seems to do something that the team before thought about but for some reason couldn’t execute.  The fact that we’re still doing that after 20 years makes me believe the possibilities for the future are endless.  My advice to the current team is to never stop dreaming because even if your idea isn’t a possibility now, you may be paving the way for future teams.  That and to enjoy every minute you’re on the team because I’m not sure there’s anything else in life quite like it.

This post was written by former Operations Director and driver, Brooke Bailey.

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Michael Yagley graduated with an electrical engineering degree in 2004. He was a part of the 2001 American Solar Challenge and the 2001 World Solar Challenge in which the teams placed first and third, respectively. As a strategist, he determined how fast to drive the car during the races and calculated the energy that could be used before the batteries would have to be recharged. He and other strategists used several software tools in evaluating how to race given race conditions and weather forecasts; he even wrote some of the software. Specifically, he was in charge of short term strategy, monitoring the telemetry form the car and detecting issues with the car.

Michael is from Sterling Heights, Michigan, and he recently left his job to start his own software company in San Antonio, Texas where he is participating in the Techstarts Cloud startup incubator. He expresses Solar Car’s impact: “Solar car prepared me a ton for this new adventure.  I’ve always viewed solar car as working at a startup. The number of hours are similar, the pressure and fear of failing is there (we are michigan. we don’t lose) and the autonomy.  Solar car is very independent from the university.  We had our own workspace that we paid rent on as the team, not the university. We owned all of our own equipment, tools hi-lo, etc.  We used to joke that there were two filing cabinets in Student Account Services that held purchase orders and receipts, one for solar car and one for all of the other student organizations combined.  So, solar car has really prepared me for what I’m working on now.  I am sure I wouldn’t be as calm…”

Some of his favorite memories were the races themselves, especially traveling all through Austalia. But the routine memories were just as good. He recalls working at the workspace until 5 a.m. once and showing up at his 8 a.m. calculus discussion smelling like diesel fuel and machine oil. His professor relegated him to the corner with a four-desk buffer zone. By this point, he realized his college experience was much different than the rest.

Michael joined the team in the first month of being on campus in 2000. His grandparents live near the GM tech center, and he remembers that the 1990 Sunrayce finished there. Also, his cousin, Jeff Zoltowski, raced on the 1993 team. It was one of his life-long goals to be a part of the team. He misses the intensity and “blind naivety.” He misses waking up and focusing on one goal and one goal alone, which was to win the race. The two weeks after M-Pulse’s crash demonstrated this exactly. The team had to rebuild completely from scratch, and he remembers even putting things on the car at the start line of ASC. However, after being in third for a large part of the race, Michigan took the lead and eventually the victory.

Prior to 2001, Michigan hadn’t had success for several years, and the 2001 teams wanted to turn that around. Michael feels that the team he was on developed a great camaraderie – one that has persisted in all the teams to follow. Michael and other team members still gather every January for snow-drift, and he is glad that good relationships have lasted.

To the current team, Michael proclaims: “The only real advice that I have is to focus on team culture in addition to the technical challenges of building the car. Times will get tough and you have to like each other or you won’t get through it.  We didn’t have the best car in both races, but I’m convinced we had the best team. And, that was a major part of our success.”

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Chris Deline, a native of Midland, Michigan, earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD all in electrical engineering at Michigan from 1999-2008. Despite his stellar academic record, he started out like everyone else. He recalls assembling the solar array as a freshman on Maize Blaze but having “absolutely terrible soldering skills.” Some of his solar cell strings were rejected because he constructed it so that all the positive leads and all the negative leads were connected, which shorted everything out. Not sure at that point exactly why they decided to keep him, he clearly overcame his early troubles and contributed greatly to the team over the years.

Chris joined in freshmen year. When he attended the welcome meeting in the Lee Iacoca lecture hall, he remembers Jose′ Alvarez, a current team member at the time, suggesting crazy projects like using depleted uranium as ballast because it might take up less space than lead shot. Although, they never ended up pursuing that, Chris realized that if anything big or high tech was going to happen on campus, it was going to be with this group. He says, “They were dreaming big.”

In addition to the electrical work, Chris also did some sourcing and was eventually selected to go to Australia for WSC to work on operations. One story about the race really stuck with him: “My biggest blunder was when we were looking for a driver and semi-truck to tow our semi-trailer in Australia. We were given an offer by Trevor Philbey who owned his own cab to take the trailer on the race, but I thought he was asking for too much money. So I put an ad in the newspaper and got an offer for a guy who would do it for free. When this guy tried to pick up the rental semi cab, he had no idea how to work the clutch, only had a handful of teeth and one good eye, and was pretty ill-tempered to boot. We had a quick conference and decided to ditch this guy and go with Trevor instead. It ended up being a much better solution. We probably wouldn’t have even gotten to the start line with the other guy.”

Chris was the electrical leader for M-Pulse, and along with the 1999 WSC, he participated in the 2001 ASC and WSC. Some of his favorite memories were the warm nights on top of the trailer and being able to focus 100% of his energy on one certain task, collaborating with some of the most motivated people he has ever met, and achieving impossible goals. One such goal was rebuilding M-Pulse after its crash three weeks before ASC. Moreover, Chris thought the team overcame adversity when the workspace burnt down in 1999. The team had to rebuild the program, recover all the important equipment, and start again in a new place.

Now, he works at NREL in solar panel research and development and says that he owes it to his experience on solar car. Time management and familiarity with power systems were values he learned from his time on the team. He was impressed by the 2011 WSC team, namely the business connections, smooth teamwork, and media coverage. And here is his advice for the team today: “Keep dreaming big, and enjoy the time you have at this point in your careers – the memories will stick with you for your whole lives!”

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Eric Carlson from Livonia, Michigan, grew up as a U of M fan. And as a Michigan resident, he saw footage of the Solar Car team every so often. Once he became a student at the University, he met the team that had impressed him over the years and was ready to jump into a project that would allow him to practice his electrical engineering skill set.

Having majored in electrical engineering, Eric was the head of electronics on the team. And in all honesty, he undertook many responsibilities since there were about two others working in that division at the time. Some of his tasks involved working with strategy, the driver, and the mechanical division to make the driver interface, cruise control, and the electronic four-wheel steering system. He raced MPulse in the WSC and ASC. In addition, he helped solder solar cells for the 2003 race.

Today, Eric, who completed his PhD in biomedical engineering, is a postdoc in a lab researching neural prosthetics. He expresses that Solar Car taught him to take on ambitious projects and to trust that with perseverance everything will come together in the end.

He says he has somehow blocked out his memories of the team until they all started involving yellow tape. When asked what he missed most, he shared, “Solar Car was an amazing experience, but one great realization I’ve had is that it doesn’t have to be the end – it’s been great to grow up with my teammates (if solar car people ever really grow up…), watching people get married and have kids, and at the same time watching people keep pushing on exciting new projects, and keeping on the journey of life-long learning and striving and doing, each in our own ways.”

Eric understands the unique qualities of Solar Car that define its success. In one way or another, hardships test the mental and technical capabilities of the members, and the team never gives up without a fight. Moreover, he shares, “It demonstrates the depth of trust and camaraderie that the team develops that it is able to band together and solve problems when everything seems like it’s falling apart.” Eric praises Michigan’s Solar Car team for never resting at the top and for always exceeding expectations. To the current team, he offers this advice: “Don’t stop!  Keep searching for exciting projects you’re passionate about and go for it!  Keep seeking out and surrounding yourself with crazy-smart, talented people – as they say, if you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room!”

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If you follow Michigan Solar Car or have been reading recent Alumni Monday blogs, you probably know that in 2001, the car crashed 17 days before the American Solar Challenge. I was driving the car when it crashed.

I’ve always been an extra-curricular, project-oriented type of student and was looking for something big to be a part of in college. Even before getting to Michigan, I heard about the 1999 team racing in Australia and I knew that I wanted be part of that. I joined the team in the fall of my freshman year and became the testing coordinator the following year – scheduling track time and getting the car to/from various facilities, recording test data, getting tire and wind tunnel testing sponsored, and helping to build the race vehicle. That led to a spot on the Race Crew mechanical team – inspecting the car daily, riding in the lead van, communicating with the test drivers on the radio, and eventually being selected as a driver myself.

Immediately after finals ended in May 2001, we started traveling around the country – wind tunnel testing in Georgia, Formula Sun Grand Prix in Kansas, back to Michigan, track testing/practicing in Texas, and then on to driving an actual portion of the route as a practice race.

Driving M-Pulse was an intense experience that required complete attention at all times. It didn’t take long after the array was lowered before I was soaked in sweat, lying on a hard surface, looking out over my feet at the road ahead (back in the day when drivers could be reclined). The steering was so sensitive when driving at speeds above ~45 mph that it required active management to keep the car straight.

On the day of the crash, we had driven through the morning and switched drivers at the media stop, just like the actual race. We were headed down a hilly, two-lane, 55 mph road in Oklahoma. Coming down a hill, I heard a statement over the radio that was muffled by road noise. I scanned for anything I needed to avoid and asked the lead van to repeat the call. I spotted the massive potholes just as I heard them repeat, “Pothole, stay right.” I moved the car to the right side of the lane and missed the largest of the potholes, which were in an area of pavement that had been poorly patched over to fix the original road beneath.  The end of the patch was uneven and thick. As I was bringing the car back to the center of the lane, the rear wheels lost traction.

The back of the car spun, sending me across the road into the oncoming lane. I tried in vain to bring the car back to the right side of the road. As the car hit the berm on the left side, it flew through a barbed wire fence and headed down a hill. Seeing plants hitting the windshield, I thought the car had flipped (it didn’t), but somehow it landed right-side up, front end down in a plot of sumac.

My teammates ran to get me out of the car. As they helped me out, I was surprised to find the steering handles still in my hands, the welds broken. I walked away from the crash physically intact with only minor bruises where my legs had hit the crossbar. (A testament to our vehicle designers and team who had designed and built a safe structure!) The emotional impact was another story, but I had the support of an incredible team around me.

Within a month, we rebuilt the car, qualified it, raced, and won the American Solar Challenge! (After which I finally got a good night’s sleep again!) Looking back, it’s notable to me that I don’t remember ever experiencing anyone blaming me for the crash or expressing anger toward me personally. Having been a part of and a mentor to other student project teams since then, I have witnessed how easy it can be for people to assign blame when a setback of any magnitude occurs. Our team recognized that in both accomplishments and setbacks, everyone contributes their piece. And we knew that dwelling on our disappointment would not have helped us achieve our goals.

Since 2001, I have realized my childhood dream of working at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston. After several years of working as a flight controller, I now work in Safety Integration for the International Space Station. Solar car prepared me well in many ways: for the intensity of 8-hour shifts requiring constant, full attention in Mission Control; for working in a team environment where everyone must take personal responsibility for their contribution to the overall goal; for being part of a program where clear, open communication is critical; for working under the pressure of inflexible schedules; and for understanding the level of personal accountability that is required when lives are on the line.

In telling the solar car story over the past 10 years, I always tell people about the crash (despite the ensuing jokes about how bad my driving must be) because I am so immensely proud of how our team responded, not just in the accomplishment of going on to win the race, but in having the maturity and the drive to get over it, apply the lessons learned, modify the vehicle, and get back to work right away. Sharing the entire solar car experience — from the challenges we overcame to the lighter moments belting out songs on the side of the road — created bonds that still make my teammates feel like family when we get together, no matter how long it’s been between conversations. I am forever grateful for the experience and the friendships!

To the current team, first and foremost – be safe! That doesn’t mean avoiding risk entirely. There are some risks you will choose to accept and others you’ll be able to mitigate, but you have to be aware of them to do that. Never hesitate to speak up or question if you see something that you think could create a safety risk. And remember that every project comes with its own challenges and opportunities to create a new story. That story will often be told around how you overcame the obstacles. How do you want your team to be remembered?

This post was written by Solar Car alumna, Ashley Milne.

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My interest in the solar car team began from something silly: seeing Sunrunner at a football game in 1990.  It took another five and a half years before being given the nudge to show up for a mass meeting.  The result of which was working on three cars and five races.  The attraction of the team was the friendships made and the different roles filled while working towards a common goal.

One of the defining characteristics of the team is we never quit or give up.  In 1997 the upper surface was too flexible, and it caused havoc with the solar array.  During the practice race, the array degraded to the point where it was no longer productive to continue and instead we headed home.  In one week we had scraped the old array off and were laying down new strings of cells.  The new array was not as powerful as the old one was supposed to be, but not showing up to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was never an option.  Similarly in 2001 when the car was destroyed in an accident a few weeks before last chance qualifiers there was never a choice.  We would rebuild the car and we would race it.  Sure, we had problems during the race.  We started near the middle of the pack because we were working out the kinks in our new car.  On the first day of the race before the first media stop, we pulled into a parking lot to resolve a telemetry issue: our array was either not working or the telemetry was not functioning.  A few basic checks later, we disconnected the offending device and resolved to fix it later.  The accident caused all sorts of other problems.  The focus of the strategy team went from further studying the car’s capabilities to building a new one.  Without a car, we were without jobs.  Those early problems during the race left us nervous.  When we made it to the media stop in Flagstaff, AZ with officials complaining about how we were out running the race and straining their logistics, it was a fantastic feeling.  We started the day in Albuquerque, NM going 50mph uphill in to overcast skies and we finished the day at the highest point in the race with one “real” day left and 50% charge in the batteries.  The next morning on the drive down to Barstow, CA we had to shut down two of the most powerful array modules because we’d overcharge the batteries.  From such lows barely a month before, to the highs of knowing our nearly 90 minute lead all but guaranteed victory.  However, with a battery pack near full it meant the car had a lot of potential we failed to tap.

My experience with solar car has not translated to my career.  On the team, there was little incentive to hold back.  If things weren’t as good as they could be, there were real consequences.  People literally put their lives on the line, and there is always a constant battle between performance, reliability, robustness and safety.  If the car can’t reliably go down the road you won’t win.  If it isn’t robust to handle the things we can’t imagine, it won’t finish.  If it isn’t safe, instead of celebrating victory we may be visiting an hospital or attending a funeral.  All the while, you want to win.  Everything you do you want to be towards that goal.  In the working world, the customer practically begs to be lied to.  If you’re not “all green” on the technical side of a competitive bid you’re going to be thrown out.  I have had the displeasure of showing, with analytical data, why a customer’s requirements weren’t feasible and detailing issues we found in their product.  We were thrown out of the bid process.  It was later learned the customer had analyzed the submitted proposals and their chosen “winner” had lied about their technical capability to meet the requirements.  The bid process started over.  There is so little trust in industry today it’s disheartening.  As an analyst, the best we can do is continue to be honest with our work.  Provide the best analytical product possible so we avoid costly mistakes.  We have to perform the same basic task of comparing models to data and learning, just like we did when developing the simulation code.  We can’t stop pushing the boundary of what we know or challenging what we think we know.  On MaizeBlaze we thought we knew how to bond aluminum to composites.  When the car came into the pits at qualifiers at a funny attitude, we were proven wrong.  Some things really don’t ever change.

This post was written by former Solar Car member, Russ Moerland.

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