Industrial design major and Raleigh native John Lalevee poses with the unfinished solar vehicle, ROSE, which he helped design during the 2017–18 year. Photo submitted
BOONE, N.C. — During the 2017–18 year, industrial design student John Lalevee had the opportunity to fulfill a childhood dream by designing the body of Appalachian State University’s newest solar vehicle, ROSE — which stands for Racing on Solar Energy.
In combining his expertise in furniture design with his enthusiasm for automobiles, Lalevee applied classroom knowledge toward a university initiative he was passionate about.
Lalevee, a rising senior from Raleigh, enrolled at Appalachian knowing he wanted to study industrial design in the university’s Department of Applied Design. He chose the furniture design concentration after taking a few courses from faculty who are also professional furniture designers. It was in these classes that he saw how furniture can have long-term utility and can be designed without creating much waste.
“Furniture has a unique ability to be designed very sustainably by using wood, a renewable resource. It’s also something that typically lasts a few decades and can function as an heirloom,” he said. “The program has excellent professors, each with unique approaches to what it means to be a designer, allowing us to develop our own design philosophies.”
According to Lalevee, the program also encourages students to focus on side projects that inspire learning outside of the classroom. In fall 2017, he joined the university’s solar vehicle team, Team Sunergy, after he was recruited by a friend for his design skills. Since he had no previous experience in automobile design, he devoted countless hours to the project.
“I taught myself the software the team uses and really started digging in, learning new things like aerodynamics and composites, things a furniture designer might not normally get into,” he said. “As the designer of the car’s body, I had to work with just about every other person on the team to ensure all systems would work in the car.”
ROSE is the second solar vehicle of Team Sunergy, following Apperion, which the team raced during summers 2016 and 2017. ROSE will function both as a race car for the Formula Sun Grand Prix and American Solar Challenge this summer, and as a multi-occupant car designed to better promote solar transportation to the public. For this reason, Lalevee worked hard to ensure the design was aesthetically pleasing.
Dan Blakeley ’15 ’18, who was the team’s project director during the 2017–18 year, commended Lalevee’s work on ROSE.
“The job John has done speaks volumes to his dedication and his craft, which has only flourished because of the tools and training he received as an industrial design student,” Blakeley stated. “He has created an aerodynamic design and a highly efficient form along with a beautiful design.”
When Lalevee graduates, he dreams about opening his own design studio. Between his courses in the industrial design program and his work with Team Sunergy, he’s able to obtain relevant work experience while developing and applying his design philosophy both in the classroom and beyond.
“Team Sunergy gives me the opportunity to work on a multidisciplinary team as a designer — something I will do as a professional — and something that is hard to get in a classroom environment. I call upon the hard skills I learn in class almost every day, whether it’s 3D modeling, sketching or fabrication of parts,” he said. “I also get to ensure that this car means something. It’s not just an engineering exercise, it’s about shaping the future of personal transportation.”
About the Department of Applied Design
One of seven departments housed in the College of Fine and Applied Arts, the Department Applied Design at Appalachian State University fosters excellence in design education, design research and professional placement. The department balances theoretical and pragmatic approaches while exploring an awareness of impact through design decisions on the global community. Faculty focus on a holistic approach to creative problem-solving by integrating sustainability and ethical responsibility in teaching and practice. The department offers bachelor’s degrees in apparel design and merchandising, industrial design and interior design. Learn more at https://design.appstate.edu.
About App State’s Team Sunergy
Appalachian State University’s internationally recognized Team Sunergy is an interdisciplinary, student-led team with a passion for sustainable transportation — and the ingenuity, innovation and drive to create it. The team began in fall 2013, as a class project to build a solar-powered golf cart, and has evolved into an award-winning program that has achieved podium finishes in every year of competition in both the Formula Sun Grand Prix and American Solar Challenge (ASC), including a first-place finish in the 2021 ASC. Both races set the standards for and test the limits of solar vehicle technology. Team Sunergy’s first vehicle, Apperion, was a modified single-occupant race car. In 2018, the team designed and built its current, two-passenger, Cruiser Class car, ROSE (Racing on Solar Energy), from the ground up. Learn more at https://sunergy.appstate.edu.
About Appalachian State University
As a premier public institution, 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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