In the spirit of an old Irish proverb, Interim President Richard Seagrave wished Team PrISUm that “the sun [may] always be at your back, or in your face or on your side, but not under a cloud,” during the unveiling ceremony of the team’s solar car Friday evening in Howe Hall.

ISU students have been working on the solar car, the Odyssey, for almost two years in preparation for a biannual race, said Ron Nelson, Team PrISUm adviser. To him, the unveiling to the general public is “just kind of a continuation . the car is ready to present to the world,” he said.

The Odyssey was uncovered after short speeches from Ben Nimmergut, associate director of Team PrISUm, Seagrave and Nick Mohr, director of Team PrISUm. Earlier in the ceremony, a Boeing representative presented the team with a check for $2,000 and “a lot of well-wishing.”

The car, which Mohr, senior in mechanical engineering, said uses “the most advanced technology ISU has ever been able to employ,” was on display for all to see – but not touch. Later, members of the team used credit cards to take the top of the car off, showing the inside to spectators.

Building a car that is efficient, lightweight and fast is a complicated task, said Dwight Brown, systems integration technologist for the team.

“The first stage is ideas,” said Brown, senior in mechanical engineering. New members need to be educated, he said, because “in a year and a half, we are taking them throughout the whole engineering process.” This includes reading a lot of books and working with drafting programs, he said.

The Odyssey’s biggest improvements over past cars, he said, include a smaller, lighter battery, which decreases the total weight of the car down 335 pounds from last year for a total of 615 pounds, and a very high-tech motor.

The climax of the solar car project is the race – Iowa State’s sixth – that will be held from July 15 to July 25, said Nimmergut, senior in mechanical engineering. With 48 teams registered the American Solar Challenge will begin in Chicago and end in California. In 1998, the ISU solar car, the Phoenix, placed fifth, and this year “we expect to do really well,” he said.

Communication among the team members is very important to do a successful job, said Valerie Sandefur, Team PrISUm outreach coordinator.

“For me, the best moments are watching the team work together,” said Sandefur, sophomore in mechanical engineering. She said being able to handle problems and keep laughing is one of the strengths of the team and members are “people who’ve committed their lives, basically, seeing it all come together.”

Nelson, professor of mechanical engineering, said the future of the team looks good, but “it’s hard to believe [the car could get] any better than this.”

Some students will continue, and some will graduate, he said, but next fall Team PrISUm will “start all over again.”