'Solar Splash' Competition Big Success

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A solar electric boat from the University of Arkansas competes in the sprint competition at this year’s Solar Splash.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Engineering students from the University of New Orleans celebrated at Lake Fayetteville Sunday afternoon as their team won ‘Solar Splash,’ the world championship of intercollegiate solar/electric boat racing. The five-day event marked the fifth and final year that the competition will be held in northwest Arkansas and hosted by the University of Arkansas College of Engineering.

“As a teacher and a host, I am extremely proud to have been a part of this competition for the past five years,” said Alan Mantooth, electrical engineering professor and the lead local organizer of the event. “The students have been wonderful. They are bright and very high-achieving people who will make a positive impact on our world. I want to thank the city of Fayetteville and my colleagues in the College of Engineering, whose support really made this event possible.”

This year’s competition boasted 13 teams from 12 universities, including perennial powerhouse Cedarville University of Cedarville, Ohio, and the United Kingdom’s University of Southampton, which placed second overall behind the University of New Orleans. The University of Arkansas entered two teams, one with a single-hull craft and one with a catamaran design. The monohull team placed seventh overall this year, and the catamaran team placed 11th.

The teams competed in sprint, slalom and endurance races. They were also judged on boat design, appearance and workmanship.

The University of New Orleans won the sprint, endurance and qualifying events en route to its first overall victory in the 17-year history of the event. The University of Southampton won the solar slalom event. Cedarville University, which won three of the five competitions in northwest Arkansas, took home awards this year for visual display and technical report. Carnegie Mellon University of Pittsburgh, Pa., won for outstanding system design. 

While held in northwest Arkansas, Solar Splash featured teams from major universities and small colleges all over the United States. In addition to this year’s competitor from the United Kingdom, Fayetteville also welcomed international teams from Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Turkey.

Cedarville University won the overall competition from 2007 to 2009. The host team from the University of Arkansas was world champion in 2006.

For more information, see the complete Solar Splash competition results from this year and previous years, or see the library of Solar Splash photographs from all five days of competition.

The title sponsor of this year’s competition was the Power Electronics Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Next year, Solar Splash will move north to Cedar Falls, Iowa, where the University of Northern Iowa will host.