The Michigan Tech Solar Car Team was founded in 2009 with the mission to educate people about solar energy and its feasibility for transportation. Their vision is to be a competitive and effective solar car team that advocates for renewable energy technology. Their objectives are to produce a working solar vehicle for the 2011 Shell Eco-Marathon competition and increase their visibility on campus for educational opportunities. The team is organized into mechanical, electrical, and business sub-teams led by sub-team leaders who report to the project leader. They are currently in the design and research stage of developing their first solar car for the Eco-Marathon competition.
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Organization and Management
Organization
The Michigan Tech Solar Car Team has based its organization upon the standard Michigan Tech
enterprise organizational model. The team operates as an entity of the Alternative Fuels Group
Enterprise, but has its own management. Our organizational model consists of:
Enterprise
Project
Advisor
Leader
Mechanical
Electrical Business
Sub‐Team Leader Sub‐Team Leader
Sub‐Team Leader
Team Member
Team Member Team Member
Team Member Team Member
Team Member
Team Member Team Member
Project Leader – The project leader is the single person who leads the team and coordinates
operations. They manage the team as a whole and are responsible for informing the enterprise
advisor about the progress of the group. They must ensure that all sub‐teams are staying on
track and that the project is keeping to the schedule to make sure the team meets the deadline.
Communication, organization, leadership, and dedication exemplify the necessary traits from
the project leader. The project leader is also a member of a sub‐team and performs the various
technical tasks associated with the sub‐team.
Sub‐Team Leaders – The sub‐team leaders for the three different sub‐teams, mechanical,
electrical and business, are responsible for their progress of their respective sub‐teams. They
manage their sub‐team members, as well as work on the sub‐teams projects with the team
members. They must coordinate with other sub‐team leaders to make sure that designs are
compatible across the different aspects of the solar car. They are also responsible for making
sure their team has the necessary resources needed to complete their tasks. Sub‐team leaders
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5. Ben Markel – Team Member
Major: Chemical Engineering
Year: 1st
Ben has joined the team as a freshman and is excited about being on the team. His willingness
to assist with all aspects of the project has been an important asset to the team due to its small
number of members. As Ben furthers his knowledge base through classes and experience on
the team he will play an ever increasingly important role.
Description of Product
The Michigan Technological University Solar Car Team is working to develop a competitive solar
car for racing in the Shell Eco‐Marathon yearly. The solar car is not simply a production vehicle
with some sort of solar electric assist. It is a highly streamlined and efficient machine that is
driven entirely through electric wheel mounted motors and charged only by solar cells affixed
to the shell of the vehicle. Care is taken during the design and manufacturing process to ensure
that the vehicle is as light in weight as possible and that rolling resistance is minimized. When in
operation, the vehicle is assisted by complex math models to ensure the most efficient use of
the power generated. To achieve all of this the Team is acquiring and will utilize expertise
within the areas of solar cell technology and vehicle dynamics to deliver the optimal vehicle for
participation within the Eco‐Marathon.
Our current development stage is that of formation, continued research and preliminary
modeling. Previously we completed an investigation into what it takes to compete in solar
racing and what types of races were out there. We established a rough estimate for our budget
and presented it to our advisor to establish the feasibility of creating a solar car team at
Michigan Tech. We were given approval to proceed with the project and have now completed a
preliminary math model for power generation and vehicle dynamics along with the outer shell
and solar cell placement model in UniGraphics NX5.
Market Analysis
The Solar Car team’s competition falls into two categories: technical competition at the event
and monetary competition.
Our competition in the race is primarily other college level engineering teams. This is due to the
high level of technical expertise and monetary investment required to be competitive. These
factors limit the inclusion of high school level teams, although a few teams do exist. At the
same time the speed, weight, and practical limitations imposed by the race guidelines do not
make this race attractive for larger, professional level solar teams. This limits our field of
competition to groups with the same level of experience and access to capital as ourselves.
Last year there were three teams competing in our bracket within the race.
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