University Solar Car team, PrISUm, is dedicated to building a practical solar car that changes the paradigm of transportation.
The team has seen 32 years of excellence and has created 15 cars, operating on a 2-year cycle of building their solar car.
The team races across the nation and internationally. The team participates in three different races; Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP), American Solar Challenge (ASC) and World Solar Challenge.
Each race is structured to challenge the car in different ways; FSGP is an annual track competition that tests the vehicles’ limits in handling curves, braking and acceleration. ASC is a multi-day competition, with 1,500-2,000 mile across North America to test the endurance of the vehicle.
The World Solar Challenge is a competition in Australia that is the world’s toughest and prestigious competition. The competition is a 3,000-mile race from Darwin to Adelaide, which tests the innovation and technology of the car.
Worried you don’t know where you’d fit or what to do on the team? No worries, the team has multiple subteams so that you can find your perfect fit. Subteams were created to disturb the workload and for students to step out of their comfort zone and work in different teams.
- The mechanical team completes a variety of tasks in the design and manufacturing of the vehicle. There are also subteams within the mechanical team such as; structures, aerodynamics, composites and molds.
- The electrical team designs, manufactures, integrates and tests electrical components of the vehicle.
- The systems team works in a variety of areas, they work with integrated systems and strategy to ensure deadlines are met and parts function together.
- The business team fundraisers, markets and community outreaches.
- The strategy team provides data-driven insights to increase performance. This comes in the form of analyzing telemetry data, tracking breakdowns, testing systems in the car, or using simulation models to predict range.
Each team has a director that is dedicated to teaching members new skills and techniques. Plus, PrISUm is a fantastic opportunity to meet new people and make lifelong connections. The team has a long-standing Alumni and sponsorship network.
Interested in getting involved, simply attend one of the team meetings
- Weekly Strategy Meeting: Sunday at 5 pm
- Weekly Mechanical Meeting: Monday at 7 pm
- Weekly Business/Outreach Meeting: Tuesday at 6 pm
- Weekly Electrical Meeting: Tuesday at 7 pm
- Weekly Systems Meeting: Tuesday at 8 pm
To learn more, check the team out on their website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or at the Student Innovation Center.
Want to bring your student organization to the Student Innovation Center? We have shared student organization suites that would be the perfect meeting space for your group! Learn more and submit your office request at https://sictr.iastate.edu/student-organizations/.
By Mallory Tope, Communications Assistant | Updated 9 Aug, 2022