ISU’s solar car, PrISUm Cynergy, is on its way to Golden, Colo., the final destination of Sunrayce ’95.

The PrISUm team left June 8 to make some test-runs before beginning the first leg of the 1,150 mile race, which began June 20 in Indianapolis, Ind. and will end in Golden on June 29.

Sunrayce is a biennial event that includes 40 teams from trade schools, colleges, universities and other post-secondary institutions. The theme of this year’s race is “education, energy and the environment.”

Team PrISUm finished the first leg of the race, from Indianapolis to Terre Haute, Ind., in two hours and 12 minutes. The car averaged 28 mph during the 63-mile run and finished in 15th place.

“We thought the car held up really well, but we got caught up in construction traffic near Brazil, Ind.,” said Lance Hemke, a PrISUm team member, in a press release.

California Polytechnic Institute finished first in the first leg of the race, in one hour and 43 minutes, with an average speed of 36 mph. In second place was MIT, followed by the University of Missouri in third place.

Yesterday’s second leg, to Alton, Ill., was 170 miles.

Before the race began, 14 ISU students, several advisers and technical support people took part in pre-race activities, which included an inspection by engineers to make sure the car met construction and safety standards. In order to qualify, the team needed to cover 50 miles in two hours.

Since the beginning of the project, more than 150 students have been involved in the creation and construction of PrISUm Cynergy. The team includes project leaders, technicians, solar car drivers

and advisers from various disciplines.

PrISUm Cynergy cost $225,000 to build. Donations of equipment, materials and funding were provided by university, industrial and private donors, according to team press releases.

PrISUm has a top speed of 50 mph and a cruising speed of 35 mph. The 900-pound solar car is 20 feet long, 6.5 feet wide and 4 feet high. It is run by an array of 1,500 solar cells, with each cell measuring four inches by four inches. The array of cells produces 1,200 watts of power.