A team of ISU students are gearing up for a race which will take them across 2,300 miles of pavement, completely powered by the sun.

Team PrISUm will compete in the American Solar Challenge 2001 July 15 to 25. The race is the longest solar car race ever attempted, running from Chicago, Ill., to Claremont, Calif., and follows Route 66 across hilly, mountain and desert terrain.

Dwight Brown, director of systems integration for Team PrISUm, said it will be the most difficult solar car race in history.

Logistically, the race will be a huge challenge because, unlike other races, the team will not have a specific stopping point each night, Brown said.

On July 11, four members of Team PrISUm will drive the route from Chicago to Los Angeles in a university vehicle to do a route survey. The survey will use Global Data Technologies to test the road conditions and collect elevation data to help the team develop a strategy for the race.

Ben Nimmergut, Team PrISUm assistant director, said the team will record all street signs, the number of road lanes and all speed limits along the way.

Since some of the participating teams are from overseas and won’t have the opportunity to test the route, Nimmergut said, Team PrISUm has decided to offer the elevation data they collect to other teams.

The team will take a semitrailer to house the team across the country. The trailer will be used as a mobile dorm. It includes bunk beds and a 1,650-gallon water tank for drinking and showering. The team will also take two vans, a recreational vehicle and a food truck.

The RV will be used to house one advisor, one race official and five team parents who volunteered to help prepare meals and drive the extra vehicles.

One of the vans will lead the race.

“The solar car driver doesn’t know the directions,” Nimmergut said. “They must follow the van.”

Brown said the team is making spare parts, organizing, buying food, improving systems and adding radios and communication systems.

“We are going over electrical conditions with a fine-toothed comb, making sure all electrical components work,” Nimmergut said. “We needed to build a car that was robust enough to take on the race, and we’re pretty confident that we’ve done that.”

The team has run into a few challenges along the way, such as getting the balance-braking system to work properly to stop the car in a straight line, Brown said.

Another challenge was fitting the driver into the car because the driver is nearly one-third of the car’s mass. The driver lies on his back in the car, with only his head popping out of the “bubble” to see.

Fund raising for the $750,000 project was also a challenge because the team relied solely on corporate and private donations, Brown said.

“You have to get people to believe in your project,” he said.

Nimmergut said the team had tremendous support from sponsors, parents and the university.

“Anyone we seek support from is more than willing to help,” Nimmergut said. “They are very excited about our project.”

Nimmergut said the team wants to have everything set in stone and done before the race. He and Brown both said their primary goal is “keeping a positive attitude and remembering to have fun.”

“One of our goals is to be tidy in everything that we do,” Brown said. “If you screw something up, fix it. If you leave tools lying around, pick them up. We want to be very professional about things.”

Along with the hard work and planning involved, members of Team PrISUm must learn to rely on each other and build a sense of trust, Brown said.

“As engineers, we solve problems,” he said. “There’s no better way to learn than to do that as a team.”