For a week before and during the 2016 American Solar Challenge at the Pittsburgh International Race Complex in Wampum, Pennsylvania, Appalachian’s solar vehicle drivers weaved between traffic cones in slalom handling tests, clocked times, kidded to fast stops in wet road brake tests, and jumped from their vehicles in quick egress tests; crews demonstrated solar array charging capacity, battery load bearing and capacity; and dozens of details, including driver registration, insurance and support vehicle graphics, were scrutinized or, using track vernacular, “scrutineered.” And, after hours, there was laundry to be done.

Racing the Sun

An Appalachian team seeks to change the future of transportation with a solar race car

Aug. 17, 2016

Take a dozen Appalachian students, three passionate faculty and an institutional commitment to sustainability and you get a race car powered by the sun that wins third place in a three-day track race and places sixth in a cross-country race lasting eight days and nearly 2,000 miles. You get innovations in sustainable technology. And, you get a roadmap to the car of the future.

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About Appalachian State University

As the premier public undergraduate institution in the Southeast, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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