Coming right behind, or rather below, the sun these days is ISU’s very own solar car, Cynergy, and the ISU solar car team, Team PrISUm.

The November 1990 issue of Automotive Engineering magazine defines a solar car as “an electrically-powered vehicle which gets its energy from the sun.”

The idea of students designing and building a solar car came about through the creation of a collegiate solar-powered vehicle race, General Motors’ Sunrayce.

The Team PrISUm homepage states, “Team PrISUm is an entirely student-run organization formed for the purpose of designing, constructing, demonstrating and racing solar-powered cars.”

“When the first race was announced, the [Tau Beta Pi engineering honorary] chapter decided to enter as a Tau Beta Pi project. It became too big so we opened it up [to all students],” said Team PrISUm advisor and chemical engineering professor James Hill.

Around 60 students are on the team, with about 20 really active members from all colleges on campus.

“We’ve had people across campus involved, every branch of engineering, chemistry, physics, public relations, finance … students from textiles and clothing made the seat for the first two cars,” Hill said.

Since its inception in 1989, the ISU team has built four cars, PrISUm, PrISUm II and two models of Cynergy.

“It’s a really neat idea to have a car that is powered by the sun and not with fuel. Maybe one day I’ll be working on that … with airplanes or other spacecraft,” said Team PrISUm secretary and pre-aerospace engineering major Deb Bunger.

The educational benefits of the project are noticed by many involved with the team.

“I think the students get a lot out of their involvement. It’s a nice opportunity for students … something they don’t get in classes,” Hill said.

Brian Moorhead, a member of the mechanical team and pre-electrical engineering major, agrees that the project has been valuable.

“I would say I’ve learned more, at least for practical knowledge, than in all my other classes combined. It’s given me some insight as to what my major’s going to be like down the road,” Moorhead said.

This is the kind of experience GM predicted the projects involved with Sunrayce, in which Team PrISUm competes, would foster.

In May of 1989, Automotive Engineering magazine reported the “race will provide practical experience for students in conceptualizing and planning a project and an end product. They will benefit from … engineering and scientific challenges.”

At the time of the first Sunrayce in 1990, it was the largest U.S. solar-powered vehicle race ever. The race travels across states and has been between nine and 11 days long.

ISU has competed in every Sunrayce against over 30 schools. Team PrISUm placed 17th out of 32 teams at Sunrayce ’90, and 10th out of 36 at Sunrayce ’93, as listed on its homepage.

The competitions have had their tense moments according to Hill. During the first race, the car’s frame broke on the Fourth of July, and the team had to find someone to weld it together. The team also forgot the top of the car in Ames during that race.

Bunger said the chaos of the team is her least favorite aspect.

“We are a group of engineers, and we are slightly disorganized. Somehow we pull everything together, though,” she said.

In Sunrayce ’95, Team PrISUm’s car, Cynergy, wrecked on the last day of the race.

“It was a big disappointment. We were concerned whether or not the team ought to continue,” Hill said; he also noted that there were a lot of accidents during that race.

“We were fortunate that our car was conservatively designed for safety. It exceeded the safety standards,” he said.

The driver sustained a minor fracture near his left ankle in the 45 mph accident, but the team still finished in the top 20.

Advisers for the team were very supportive of the team following the accident, said project director Beth Hunter, a senior in civil engineering and environmental studies.

Race rules have changed following the accidents of Sunrayce ’95. Hill said scout vehicles will not be allowed on the race route, and there will be no travel on freeways or through congested areas, such as Denver, in Sunrayce ’97.

The team is now preparing Cynergy for its June trek on the Sunrayce ’97 route from Indianapolis to Colorado Springs.

In comparison with PrISUm II, Hunter said Cynergy is “much more aerodynamic. It’s a very neat car, by that I mean organized … People got to fix things they didn’t like about PrISUm II.”

Hunter said her goal for the team is to return to the top 10.

“We really didn’t do as well as we had expected in ’95. It would be good for us and the people who support us for us to get back in to the top 10,” she said.

The team reported no major problems in designing or building their car for Sunrayce ’97. The biggest obstacle they face is fundraising, according to members.

“Money is the biggest [problem] … we need to raise about $100,000 before we race the car,” Hunter said.

To achieve this goal, many fund-raisers have been designed and implemented by the team.

“We’ve done the raffle before Christmas. Grand prize was in-state tuition for one semester. We came out ahead by a little … this year we had a Solar Aid concert with the Nadas and Minneapolis’s Flora. It was an all-ages event at People’s Bar,” Bunger, also a fundraising team member, said.

A continuing fund-raiser is the Adopt a Solar Cell program. The solar cells, or photovoltaic cells, convert the sun’s energy into electricity which is used to directly run the car or charge the car’s storage batteries, as explained in the November 1990 Automotive Engineering magazine.

For $25, anyone can adopt one of the 2,000 solar cells on the car. The money is used to buy, tab, weatherproof and install the cell, according to the team’s homepage.

“You get a map telling you where your cell is, a certificate and a brochure. It helps us to pay for the solar cells, which are rather expensive,”Bunger said.

The team also receives money and materials through corporations. Team PrISUm organized the Sunrun across Iowa as a way to encourage corporate sponsorship.

“It’s something that we made up as something that we could promote ourselves to and fund-raise,” Hunter said. During the Sunrun in May, team members travel to various sponsors and schools in Iowa to promote Team PrISUm.

Hunter said that by being visible to the entire state the team hopes to increase adoption of solar cells, attract smaller donors and “with solar energy becoming more and more used, it’s something we could help spread the word about.”

Increasing awareness about solar power is, in fact, another objective of Sunrayce. Automotive Engineering magazine said, in November 1990, stimulating “the application of conservation and renewable-energy technology” was a key factor for GM in devising the race.

Along with Sunrayce, Team PrISUm participates in other activities including the Sunrun, the Veishea parade and presentations on solar car racing, alternative energy, alternative transportation and science and engineering education.

Above all else, however, Team PrISUm is an educational tool.

Moorhead said what he enjoys most about the project is “the chance to put to use some of the stuff I will be learning, like circuit design, and the fact that it will tie into my classes later.”

Teammate Bunger felt she benefited from her experience with Team PrISUm from “meeting people who have taken the classes you are taking, learning to work together with a very diverse group of people,” and “learning to work together with a very diverse group of people” and “learning there are other girls interested in this.”

Hill mentioned many similar benefits to the solar car project.

“I think it’s such a good project for students. They get a lot out of it, and it’s fun. It’s something positive for the university; it shows off a more practical or technical side of the university than the sports team, so I think it’s a really good project,” Hill said.