Rutgers Solar Car Team Competes in Formula Sun Grand Prix

In 2016, Rutgers Solar Car (RSC) was established to design and build solar-powered vehicles to compete in the American Solar Challenge (ASC) and Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) and promote sustainable energy.

This July, Hyperion, the RSC team's car competed at the Elektrek Formula Sun Grand Prix held at the Brainerd International Raceway (BIR) in Brainerd, Minnesota. There, "the team passed their first-ever car through design judging and were able to race on the track with teams from other colleges," reports faculty advisor Jesse Hubler, an assistant professor of professional practice in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

He adds, "This was the first year that this club has had a car that was fully built in-house, passed judging, and raced on the track."

The FSGP is a showcase for engineering and sustainable energy solar cars as well as for team strategy and endurance, as collegiate teams compete on BIR's 3.1-mile road course that's one of the fastest in the nation. A record 39 teams from the U.S., as well as from Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands, took part in the three-day event. 

A Learning Experience

Before their car could compete on the course, it had to pass rigorous technical inspections known as scrutineering.

Rising senior and mechanical engineering major Ethan Tung explains, "Our car was able to pass scrutineering this year because we had the right combination of people who'd learned from our previous mistakes."

Fellow team member Huzaifah Islam concurs, "I think we learned a lot from last year's competition experience, where we received a lot of helpful feedback and assistance from other teams. This year we had an insanely talented and dedicated team that fought until the last day to get on the track."

After passing scrutineering, RSC's car successfully completed 29 laps—or 90 miles—on the BIR course—to make RSC history.

Putting Academics into Practice

According to rising junior Islam, RSC relates to his aerospace major allowing him to gain invaluable hands-on experience by applying the concepts he had learned in class to real problems in a way that reinforced them. 

As one of two manufacturing leads at RSC, Tung was focused on metalworking and general manufacturing. "I have done all of the welding on the single-occupant car," says Tung, who hopes to join the automotive or manufacturing industry after he graduates. 

"Some of the things I love most about RSC is learning real-world engineering skills that you can't learn in the classroom," he explains. "Learning how to work with a team to make a real, driving vehicle from scratch is extremely satisfying as well as educational. I came into Rutgers with zero experience in metalworking or welding and am very lucky to have had the opportunity to learn so much.

"What most excited me about showing our car at the Formula Sun Grand Prix was simply getting our car onto the track," Tung recalls. "It was so satisfying seeing years of our hard work finally pay off as it was the first time we'd gotten our car to pass scrutineering as well as get onto the track and complete 29 laps."