UA Engineers Make A Splash At Solar Boat Race

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -They may be rookies, but the University of Arkansas engineering students powered to a fourth place overall in the Solar Splash 2000, coming in just behind the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. It marked the highest that a first-time team has ever placed in the solar/electric boat competition.

"And they were really in awe when they found out we did it in five months for about $10,000," said Kraig Olejniczak, faculty sponsor for the competition. "The second place boat, from the University of New Orleans, took a year to build and had a budget of $62,000."

Olejniczak, professor of electrical engineering, accompanied the students to New Orleans for the week-long competition. Students from electrical and mechanical engineering worked on the boat’s design and construction. Team members were: Robert Durham, Andy Dyer, Joseph D. Hawkins, Chris Hearn, Seth Henry, Dana Hodges, Sam Jacks, Davin Moorman, Dura Muhammad, David New, Wes Ward, Aaron Wirth and Derrick Zank.

The University of Arkansas team finished first in the Slalom obstacle race, second in the 70 meter qualifying sprint, fifth in the 300 meter sprint an seventh in the endurance race. Their poster presentation, a competition requirement, placed second. The team also won awards for the Best Rookie Team and the Best Looking Boat.

"We really raised the standards for what the boats should look like a notch," added Olejniczak. "All of the credit for this should go to the students. They worked incredibly hard to make this happen."

Electrical engineering student David New piloted the boat for the 70 meter sprint. Because of the need for ballast, at one point he was laying along the prow of the boat, steering with his feet, according the Olejniczak.

New, who lead the team, explained how close the team came to not making it. On Friday night before they were to leave on Monday, the boat still was without power. An essential component, the power converter, malfunctioned and the team was left without a way to power the boat from the solar cells.

"At 2:30 on Saturday morning, we realized it wasn’t going to work," New explained. "We thought about what else would use that equipment, and hit on a fork lift. I called every fork lift service in the phone book trying to find a power converter."

The last company on the list, Lift Truck Service Center, proved to be the solution. When branch manager Karl Hoffarth heard of their problem at 3 a.m. Saturday, he got up and found the converter they needed and donated it to their project.

Olejniczak is already making plans for next year. Through talking with other teams and studying videotapes of the races, he believes that the University of Arkansas will be in an even more competitive position. They are also thinking of including students from other disciplines on the team and recruiting sponsors to help defray costs"

"We need to work on obtaining 'high-tech’ carbon fiberconstruction materials," he said. "The weight of the boat really hurt us in the endurance race. One team there had an 18-foot boat so light that when it was empty the female pilot couldeasilylift it over her headwith one hand."

The University of South Carolina took first place in the competition, the University of New Orleans School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering was second and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy finished third