FALL 2020 NEWSLETTER: OPERATION BRIZO
To our valued sponsors and supporters,
The Illini Solar Car team faces many challenges daily - challenges such as balancing education with a highly technical project team, navigating a group of 70+ students towards a common goal, and of course endeavoring to design and build a solar powered vehicle. However, this year has presented its own unique set of challenges and hardships that are reverberating through every single one of our lives. As I am sure many are aware, the workplace has been shifted to a remote effort. Illini Solar Car swiftly transferred to an online workplace, striving to maintain continuous productivity and ensuring the safety of our members.
However, despite this unprecedented time, Illini Solar Car has and will continue to persevere. I am proud to say that the team has made significant strides in design and manufacturing of our car all the while following stringent safety standards.
Illini Solar Car is also proud to be under the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, who are taking great strides for student safety and success. Without their dedication to students, we would not be able to make nearly as much progress as a team.
Our mission is still to complete our second generation car for the American Solar Challenge in Summer of 2021. I have the utmost confidence Illini Solar Car will meet our goals and will continue to overcome the most difficult challenges the team has faced yet.
Tim Damisch, Team President
Mechanical Engineering '21
On the topic of races
There are now two of the world’s largest international solar races in 2021 - the American Solar Challenge and the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. Each holds slightly different challenges and logistical hurdles to overcome. Given that these races are mere months apart from each other and BWSC requires extensive chassis modifications to accommodate recent rules updates, we will have decided that we will only be competing at one of the two races - the 2021 American Solar Challenge.
Our decision to select ASC2021 was based on several key factors - cost of attendance, technical challenges, and time constraints. Budget estimates from past years put the cost of attending BWSC at roughly double that of ASC - making ASC a clear choice for our team. Additionally, the introduction of PVC Pat in the latest BWSC regulations proved to be a large barrier, as there is simply no way that our driver cabin could accommodate his dimensions as required without significant modification.
PVC Pat is a driver model made from PVC pipe whose dimensions are detailed in the 2021 BWSC regulation release. When standing, PVC Pat measures over 6 feet in height; far more than the average height of our team’s drivers, and, regardless of sitting configuration, nearly impossible to fit into our current chassis while maintaining fast egress speeds and driver comfort.
"We're taking every precaution to protect our members while getting this new car done."
Peter Figura, Facilities and Safety Director
Mechanical Engineering '21
Our work at the University of Illinois
The University of Illinois has rolled out the most comprehensive testing regime of any organization in the country in order to maintain the best possible experience for students. Twice-weekly tests are mandatory for all on-campus undergraduate students, and once-weekly for all graduate students, faculty, and staff. You can read more about the University's testing program here.
Though access to campus work spaces is contingent on further guidance from the University, we are still able to access our off-campus garage and work there. Our guidelines have been developed in alignment with those published by the State of Illinois and the University of Illinois. We intend to follow all guidance issued by the University and State. When working in this garage, team members will be following stringent guidelines laid out by our team facilities & safety director. These guidelines include mandatory masks, a wash-in-wash-out policy, disinfecting of frequently used tools and surfaces, and a sign in sheet to keep track of any persons going in and out of our workspace.
Access will be monitored based off of projects in progress, and we have instituted a member cap at the space. With these guidelines in place, Illini Solar Car hopes to continue hands-on work with the car while also being mindful of safety.
Regardless of the access to campus workspaces, Illini Solar Car continues to do design work and meetings through an online format. This approach has been successful for the team to stay productive during the transition to online classes during the academic year, as well as over the summer. Although the adjustment has been difficult, we have full confidence in our ability to finish our car this year.
The month of August and early September also meant that our team's recruiting efforts been in full force. We're happy to say that attendance at our info sessions was comparable to attendance at last year's, and we hope to bring a similar number of people to team as in years past. On-boarding and new-member presentations are all happening virtually.
"I'm really happy with how well our recruiting is going. We've had a great turnout."
Priyank Jain, New Member Coordinator
Electrical Engineering '23
The Illini Solar Cars
As in Greek lore, the Argo carried Jason and the Argonauts on their journey to retrieve the Golden Fleece - a symbol of respect and kingship. The Argo traversed the Mediterranean Sea with the Argonauts, much as our Argo crossed the Pacific Ocean to race across continental Australia at the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. Authors have hypothesized that the Argo was the first of its kind to set off on such a voyage, much like how Argo - the first Illini Solar Car of the 21st century - has been a game-changer for our team.
The latest generation of the Illini Solar Car - slated to appear to the public in its entirety for the first time - will be called Brizo. As the Greek goddess Brizo protected the Argonauts on their legendary journey, our Brizo will ensure the safety of our drivers as they compete across the world. This is the first time we’re formally revealing the name of the car, though it has been mentioned in news coverage of the team and a previous team update.
As swift as the wind, Brizo is a revolutionary step forward for the team and will carry us to new heights. We’re excited to fully present Brizo to you as we finish construction.