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The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Engineering solar car team achieved a new personal best at the 2015 Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) in Austin, Texas. 

The School’s Black Nova completed 66 laps and covered more than 226 miles, five times more than last year’s total. SIUE was one of 15 universities from the U.S. and Canada that competed July 26-31 at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin. 

This year’s team consisted of six SIUE students: Zachary Crawford, Preston Steffey, Zack Endsley, Blake Fry, Cody Lynn and Ryan Maitland; and three SIUE alumni: Alex Wolff, Matt Boone and Calvin Walker.

The primary drivers were Endsley and Steffey. Serving as advisors to the team were Dr. Andrzej Lozowski, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Steve Muren, lab manager/instructor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

“In years past, our car has struggled to make it up the 13-story incline at turn one,” said Crawford, project director. “However this year, the car had no trouble scaling the hill thanks to our new NuGen Mobility motor. We completed 66 laps, five times more than ever before – and all on sun power!”

Event details can be found at American Solar Challenge. SIUE’s race is available on YouTube.      

The SIUE School of Engineering offers one of the most comprehensive and affordable engineering programs in the St. Louis region with eight undergraduate degrees, five master’s degrees and a cooperative doctoral program, all housed in a state-of-the-art facility. Students learn from expert faculty, perform cutting-edge research, and participate in intercollegiate design competitions. Companies in the metropolitan St. Louis area provide students challenging internships and co-op opportunities which often turn into permanent employment. All undergraduate programs are accredited by their respective accreditation agencies.