Dan Blakeley: It’s a very long story, but long story short, somebody I served with in the army actually came to Appalachian State University. When we were serving together we kind of grew up together in the army. We went to basic training together. We went to ranger school together. We went to the ranger indoctrination program together. Airborne school. We even went to the same platoon and served in the same platoon for four years together. So, we both always talked about sustainability and different programs and things that we wanted to do after the army. He got out two years before I did and came to Appalachian State University. And after his first year, he got me to come out and visit him. I saw the mountains and I fell in love with the program and the department and just to see all the different projects and things that were going on, I just got really excited. And so that’s how I ultimately chose Appalachian State University.

When I served in the army, I learned very early on that everybody needs to be a leader, but needs to kind of find their area of leadership and their role within the bigger picture and the bigger community. When I was looking for a university, I really wanted a university that would allow me to step into a leadership role easily again. And when I came and visited Appalachian State University, I saw that. There are student projects all around campus. And you can see students working on them and being invested in them, and interested in them and wanting to develop them. And having the faculty and staff support to really take that drive to want to be a leader and have a project of your own and carry it forward is really what got me excited to be here at Appalachian State University. So, anybody coming in really has that opportunity coming to our university and really exploring all the different options that we have.

Duvey Rudow: So I’m actually originally a performance major. I did theatre, dance, creative writing, public speaking, stuff like that. And physics was my minor. I sort of, as I was getting to the end of my career I realized that it would nice to be able to get a job afterwards. So I started looking for some other activities to get involved in. I switched over to physics. So I graduated and am now pursuing my physics degree and in one of my classes Daniel Blakeley, the project director, he sort of stood up and he made an announcement and said “hey guys uhh I’m with the Solar Vehicle Team, we are looking for new people. We got an interest meeting. Why don’t you come on out and check it out.” And I went in and I didn’t know exactly what to expect, but then the more I got on the team and the more I met the people the more I realized that the people on the team are just fantastic. It feels really nice to work with people who are smart, driven, fun. I mean, I couldn’t ask for more in a team. Even though we sometimes have to stay up ‘til two in the morning working on something, it’s really fun. We got music playing, we’re all joking around, we might drink too much Red Bull sometimes, but I really couldn’t ask for more. It’s been really great for me to really work with a team and figure out how I work best with a team. I think that’s what I’ve gotten a lot out of this. Sorting figuring out my role and how I can best help the people that I’m working with. It was really great. My parents actually were able to come out and they were here seeing the car and they kept on saying how proud they were of me. It’s really nice to sort of give back to them and make them proud. It means a lot to me so...

Jake Barnes: It’s been amazing, I mean, we have a bunch of different people from different backgrounds. Pedro’s from Brazil, I mean, he’s only been up here for a couple of years and studying only. He flew up specifically last Thursday to be here for this race after he already graduated. After he already submitted his thesis paper. I mean, it’s great to have someone so dedicated to this. And then Dan has been an amazing project leader. His experience in the military has really led us very well. I mean, we wouldn’t be here without him. You know, dealing with people who like from the business team, the mechanical team and understanding a lot more about mechanical stuff now...it’s useful information. Then the business thing, fundraising. I mean, we’ve had to fundraise ourselves pretty much for a really long time now we’re getting the support we need. It’s great, but for a long we were struggling. Going through that struggle has made us stronger as a team so. The biggest take-away is probably dealing with stressful situations with low sleep. Diagnosing things and trying to be very quick about repairs, it’s worked out so far, but the first couple of days going through scrutineering was really stressful. It was wake up six o’clock and then be done around twelve so we’d get very little sleep. Go back to the hotel and get up at six again. It’s been a great experience, I think so far. I mean, I’m happy to be here.

Pedro Franco: My name is Pedro Franco, I’m actually from Brazil. I did my undergrad in electrical engineering back there. I’ve been working with the team for like almost two years. And we went to the race last year, but just now we’re getting to experience racing. So I actually went back to Brazil for a day and came back here just for the race. Dan started the project and when I joined the team, we didn’t have a car. We only had a few ideas, but still we had no clue what to do. And with the help of Iowa State University we got the car donated. We went to Texas. Didn’t get the chance to race, but we showed them that although we’re not an engineering school, we’re not playing right now. We’re here to compete. Show that we can do as good as they can. And so far we are proving them that we can do it. So this is great. I honestly kind of like had to hide my face because I was crying a little bit just because got a little emotional because at the moment we were like almost ten laps and we qualify to the ASC. I was like wow. It’s just exciting.

James Furr: So I’m a freshman, the only one on the team. I found the solar car through word-of-mouth and I love cars and I love sustainability, so I thought this would be right up my alley. So I did everything I could to find it and I did. Working with the team has been a great experience. It’s been more like an actually job than I thought it would be. And I’ve learned quite a bit more than I thought I would. I would spend long periods of time with them, you know, being up late working on things and just seeing, you know, how to solve problems in a physical sense. It’s totally different learning style than school and I really like it. It’s a great way to do it. So the graduate students basically run the program. While we do have faculty advisors and the program is run by grad students and seniors. And having upperclassmen run it, there are certain degrees of freedom you get. And that’s kind of a nice thing. ‘Cause you’re not really looked upon, you know, as a student, you’re looked at as a peer. And that’s a really good thing. So this experience is going to give me more knowledge about electrical, mechanical and even on the business end of things. We don’t have a really big team and since we, you know are self funding, everyone is involved in everything. So this is how an actual job would be if you were to be in one. Maybe not as, like you would probably have a more specified job, but being able to see everything that goes on in a team is very I don’t know, it’s a mutualistic experience.

Andrew Grimes: I got involved with the Solar Vehicle Project this April actually. Six months ago, I didn’t even know there was a solar energy team on campus. There were 20-some students together working on this project, doing incredible things at a liberal arts college. As soon as I heard about it, I came out to a meeting and met everybody and felt like I was at home. It was really the group at Appalachian State that I had been looking for. And when I joined this team, I wasn’t sure how I could really contribute, if I could really contribute. But as time past, I realized it wasn’t so much about me contributing to them as it was a mutual trade off. I was learning about things that I haven’t really been exposed to and talking to really smart people about things that I was curious about. Its challenged me to learn how to understand the needs of these engineers, essentially. There’s a communication barrier between the business world and the technological side of all the industries doing this cutting edge innovation. And if you don’t have good communication, you don’t have people trying to understand what they need to get their work done. It’s going to slow the process down. So what I’ve really gained from this experience is to be patient and try to understand. Know my limitation in understanding the technical details in things, but at the same time trying as hard as I can to understand as much as I can to fulfill their needs in way that I can.

Abby Hastings: This year my role has kind of been more of like a checkup, making sure that everything is still running okay. Doing a little bit with the shocks just to make sure everything is okay, like before, they were too tight and we figured it out; fixed it. A lot of like, little things that you don't think about when you're building a car, that's pretty much been my role, but since I’m graduating in December and were starting a new car right after this, I’ll be a lot more heavily involved in the design process so I actually will get to work on the frame and doing all those kind of stress and jounce calculations for the shocks, which I'm really excited about. When I first heard about it, it was like “oh my gosh this would be so incredible to be a part of” but as it’s come closer, the work started building and everything, and I still don't think it’s clicked in my head how big of a thing this is. Every once in awhile I have to remember that this is the only one in the country and multiple countries are here and I’m actually a part of it. This is the first thing that I feel like has been a big thing that I've been a part of in college, you know, it's an actual competition. I wasn't a sports person. I think the biggest take away that I'll take from this is problem solving and teamwork. Being able to troubleshoot all these problems pretty quickly, that's what I feel like my whole degree has been in. And especially working with people, being more open when we’re dead tired instead of snapping at each other; that's been something that we’re working on and I think we’re getting a lot better at it; I think that will be my biggest takeaway.

Jon Linck: You know just meet people and word of mouth and you hear about these programs, and this program, it’s a year old as of today basically. And I’ve always done racing, always been involved in racing and been interested in and as soon as I found out, and I knew that I had to be on that team.

My role on the team is mechanical director and basically that involves all the mechanical components. Making sure all the frame, suspension, tires, rims, all that is in good shape and everything is operating like it should be. I supposed my definition of sustainability is responsibility. You can develop technology after technology that will mitigate problems in the world, but it really comes down to the person and how they use it and the type of responsibility people are willing to take for their actions. And, I think, being at an event like this, you have a lot of people that see how the future is going to unfold and you know wanna jump in the boat and kind of get ahead of the curve. In the sense that it’s fun and extracurricular, but, you know, at the same time it’s a real life issue. I mean, we’re all here having fun, you know, working hard and it doesn’t seem like there is really any pressing matter, but, you know, in thirty years all that could change. I think that the paradigm shift is real. People are kind of understanding that okay yeah we definitely need to take some responsibility for how we operate in the world.

You know, I care about the younger guys a lot as well because well we’ve all been young. I’m an older student and I just want to guide these younger guys to help them learn how to troubleshoot problems, gain problem solving skills, really develop skills that you need to be successful here on the track, but then also in life generally. I think at the end of the day, we’re all still learning and we’re all still trying to figure stuff out in our lives and on the track. And even though we have that age differential, it all comes down to working together and trying to overcome the problems that we face.

Jongmin Na: I found out about this team about this time last year. I heard about it I was interested, but I was not into it yet back then. But as soon as I saw the vehicle, it was beautiful. It’s like then our team director talks about the technology being used and how it’s going to be like the car which will be on the street eventually and he asked me a simple question, “Do you want to make some vehicle for the future” and I definitely said yes. So sustainability is the main part of our vehicle. Many people doesn’t know, but the concentration of carbon dioxide has been reached highest point it has ever been and half of that last fifty years. Which definitely means something happened in last fifty years. Most of the scientist agree that it’s from the culmination of the vehicle like gasoline or diesel and we do have to get rid of it. That’s really what we are trying to do. Not just engineering, but try to build something that’s eco-friendly because we need Earth, but Earth does not need us. So before Earth start hating us, let’s try to make some friendship with the Earth. And to do that, we have to build something that doesn’t hurt Earth so much and that’s our vehicle.

Lindsay Rudisill: So I got involved with the Solar Vehicle Project because my brother, JB, he’s a year older than me, I kind of followed him to App, and he’s a physics major. So he took a class for the sustainable - I don’t even know what’s it called, but some sustainable vehicle class. And it was really his thing, but he knew how much I loved driving so he said “you should look into this. I mean you probably don’t know how to work this car because it’s not normal, but I think you’d get a lot of experience out of it because everyone is kind of on the same learning path and everyone is learning from each other you’d really like it.” So I went to a meeting with him and then he never went to a meeting with me again and I was just one of the team since then. With this team working with them, I can honestly say it’s a breath of fresh air cause I’ve always been someone with a drive to go after my passion, do whatever it takes. I mean sleep is not that important when it comes to something that is really exciting to me. So that kind of takes priority. And with this team we communicate well, we work together well and we have great organization. Finally I can be a part of a team that is working towards the same goal with no excuses and they all love cars and I feel like I’m part of the future. Like yeah this isn’t a normal car. I’ve never dealt with sustainable technology or alternative energy, but I feel like it’s part of the future. And I think that’s way cool to be involved with saying that I’m part of the future and I’m kind of making a difference. And it’s something that I love and I am experiencing it in a not really normal way right now which is amazing.

Logan Ward: I think it’s important that Appalachian State is here at the Formula Sun Grand Prix just because we are representing North Carolina, there’s no other team here. Kentucky and Georgia Tech are here representing the southeast United States, which is really important. And I just think we need a lot more coverage. Like this should be a much larger event. So apparently in the 90s there were around forty teams here and it just plunged because the funding for the event went like way down. So we are trying to build up excitement for it again. And not make it so much an engineering challenge, but, you know, a viable means of transportation for the future. And if App wants to lead the way in sustainability and truly be a green college, this is a great opportunity to get our word out and show people what we’re about. I develop an interest in sustainability early in high school just when I realized, you know, we can’t keep doing things the way we’re doing them. We’re going to have to stop our dependence on fossils fuels. And whenever I saw this project in the fall, I thought what a great opportunity to be a part of something that could, you know, really change the way we get from A to B. Like whenever Ford came out and developed the automobile, they completely changed the industry. You know, you had to build roads and you needed gas stations...it completely changed America. And I think something like this could do the same thing. It could affect many ways of life that you wouldn’t even think that it would be close to affecting. We cannot continue destroying the planet. (chuckles) That’s pretty much it.

So right now, as a physics major, I am contributing to the team by uh helping out on the electronics side of the car. You know, going over circuits, making sure we have continuity between A and B, trying to make sure all the batteries are in order. And at the same time, back in Boone, it’s just teaching kids. Teaching like our freshmen sophomores what’s going on. Like step by step, trying to walk them through things and that’s a really big well it’s a great opportunity to do that just because it furthers my knowledge like even more. Because you know if you can teach something to something, then you’ve truly learned it.

Bailey Winecoff: I mean it’s really a team effort. And what’s different about this project is you learn things on your a lot of times. It’s not straightforward, in front of you. A lot times we’re thinking critically through complex situations and there’s not always a direct path that we have to follow. We kind of have to make our own a lot times to overcome some of these problems we face with the car. I mean, my role on the team is a little bit different. I’m kind of like a jack-of-all-trades. You know I was there last year at the Formula Sun Grand Prix and I think that was a great learning experience. You really, everyone plays their part. We have such a small team that everyone really has to be able to work on all aspects of the car and work together like as a team. I mean we have twelve people at this competition and some of the other teams have close to thirty people on their team. So yeah we’re one of the smaller teams around here.

Sustainability means a lot of different things to me. A lot of times when people think of sustainability, they overlook the social aspect of it. You know, it’s not just the environment. We also need to think about the equality and economy. And how those intertwine together is, you know, really interesting to me because a lot of times I don’t think we realize how everything is really going to come together you know. It’s-it’s such like a big thing you know we have this one world here and every single human that ever lived, lived on this world. Every person you’ve ever known, every person that has ever been on planet earth. So we need to protect and right now we’re not to be honest and things need to change and hopefully that’s what this team can bring to the table. You know, this is just one small aspect of um you know on the path that we need towards a sustainable future. So the technology we have on this car can hopefully be incorporated into like the commercial field as they start to build cars in the future and you know move away from fossil fuels and towards like electric drive and renewable energy.

Jeremy Ferrell: Hi my name is Jeremy Ferrell. I’m an assistant professor in sustainable technology and the built environment and I’m the coordinator for the sustainable technology program and I’m one of the faculty advisors for the Solar Vehicle Team.

A lot of these students have come in with very little hands on practical skills and so, working with a battery pack has a lot of energy in that. And it’s dangerous. Learning how to work with equipment and tools and solder and troubleshoot and work together. I see the kind of the mentorship from the graduate students and the other students that I’ve experience in this kind of environment where it’s kind of a fast paced hyper learning environment. Being an actual project and as a competition, which I always think is great for learning. I think they’re learning from each other. I mean, certainly some have more experience than others, but I think all of them are really learning. You know, we live in an age where if you don’t know something you can probably find it online pretty quickly and teachers do help. So they taught themselves a lot of it. I’ve said this before, but there’s no one on this campus that do the kind of troubleshooting and the development that they’ve taught themselves on their own.

It takes a lot of energy and time and dedication and passion and money to put one of these cars together and then bring it out to an event. And so everyone respects that. Last year, if you could’ve seen all the teams helping us, we were the team that was out in the parking working on our car ‘cause we didn’t have the insurance to go in the garage. The team was out there, you know, in hundred degree weather in Austin, Texas and all these other teams came and jumped in and said what can we do for you. Do you need a part, do you need a tool, do you need this or that and there was this really great comradery cause everybody really wants to, you know, see people engaged in solar racing. So it’s a really unique environment. It is a competition, which in this case, I think brings the best out of everyone.

Brad Johnson: Working with the students is great. They are very motivated and I’m just happy I can support them as much as I can. One of the biggest challenges that they are facing, is things tend to break. You got a lot of moving parts and, you know, they’re having to learn everything on the fly and they don’t have all the experience they need to do this, but they’re still managing to get it done. I don’t know how many opportunities, you know, students have with something like this so it’s really really good for them. And you know I think it’s going to help them get jobs and other opportunities. Like you can put this on a resume, it’s a huge resume builder. And, you know, it kind of brings all the different departments of the university together and that’s really exciting. I think with school sometimes, everything is well designed so that it flows smoothly because the students get frustrated if it’s not flowing smoothly, but that’s not the real world. I mean the real world is quite the opposite, so you’re always having to overcome some challenge or another. And it’s neat to see them working on this and overcoming their challenges. And just having the opportunity to have this kind of project.

Chris Tolbert: So our vehicle has, in this competition all vehicles have some restrictions on battery size, uh solar panel size and that so all the vehicles have a bar that you sort of have to stay under. So you can’t have more solar panels than the next team and that sort of thing, but realistically our car can travel 150 miles without the sun on its battery pack. With the sun it can travel infinite distances at about 45 miles per hour average. It can go in excess in about 75 miles per hour on short bursts and it can pull out and past somebody. So it is something, it’s a good platform to consider for future vehicles. And our next vehicle that we are going to building is our next generation and it’s going to be the vehicle you’re going to want to drive to work. It’s going to have a door that most people like myself can get in and out of and also will be able to haul passengers and cargo. So that’s our goals for the next generation. And we are going to take what we learned from this racecar and put it into a practical sense for a practical vehicle.

Lee Ball: What’s happening here is extremely important. We have this opportunity to teach people about solar energy and sustainability. That’s what separates our team from all these other teams is that it’s not just engineering challenge for us. We’re just really interested in advocating, you know, this technology and solutions for these times that we’re in. Where we’re threatened with climate change and all the other impacts of the not so clean energy forms of production. But they are so passionate about changing the world. They’re really here to make a difference and I know that our students are going to leave here committed to wanting to make a difference for the rest of their lives.