Welcome to Team PrISUm

Sol Invictus Test Run Video - November 8, 2009

After displaying our solar car at the Iowa State Engineering booth before Saturday's football game, we took Sol Invictus out for a test drive. Sol Invictus is our ninth solar car and is now officially retired, but we still use it for outreach events and testing while we build our new car. At this particular testing event, many new team members got to drive the car for the first time. This is important because we are starting to think about drivers for the 2010 American Solar Challenge. We've posted a movie of the car in action at our videos page.

New Time and Format for General Meetings - November 3, 2009

Starting Monday, November 9 our general meetings will be held an hour earlier starting at 7:00PM. We realize that college students value their time and probably don't like sitting through a long general meeting every week. However, it is important that all team members attend the general meetings because this is the only time we can bring together members of both the mechanical and electrical teams to discuss the current status of the project and give important announcements. To make attendance more worth while, we are dramatically shortening the general meetings. Additionally, starting at 7:00 will allow more time for everyone to return to the garage after the meetings to organize projects and be productive. PrISUm directors are always open to suggestions from team members about how to improve our meeting structure.

Naming Our 10th Solar Car - October 26, 2009

It's that time again! Our new car is currently referred to by it's project number, P10, but we have started the compiling a list of potential names for the final car, which will be voted on later this year. If you would like to suggest a name, send us an email at solarcar@prisum.org.

PrISUm Website Overhaul - October 23, 2009

Our website has undergone it's second major revision this year. The first revision focused on bringing the website up to modern code standards and addressed numerous cross browser compatibility issues. This update offers a brand new navigation bar along with updated content and additional pages. The website will continue to evolve and expand as we strive to provide you with the best online experience possible. Although we have conducted quite a bit of testing on the new site, there are sure to be some issues that didn't catch our attention. Your feedback would be much appreciated so that we can quickly address issues and make future improvements to the website. Please send us an email or contact our media director, Evan Stumpges, with your input and suggestions.

PrISUm Fusion on Display in Howe Hall - October 10, 2009

Team PrISUm's 8th solar car, Fusion, is currently on display in the Howe Hall atrium at Iowa State University. After a few nervous minutes while the car dangled from a gantry crane, it came to rest on the basement floor next to the C6 Virtual Reality Machine, a jet turbine, and an airplane fuselage. Howe Hall is home to the ISU Aerospace Engineering Department as well as Engineering Distance Education and the Virtual Reality Applications Center (VRAC), making it a perfect fit for displaying a lightweight, aerodynamic, composite solar-electric vehicle. Fusion will remain on display next to the VRAC until December for students and the public to view up close. The car raced in the 2005 North American Solar Challenge from Austin, TX, to Calgary, AL, Canada and finished 3rd in class. Visit the past vehicles page to learn more. We are also currently seeking a more permanent location to display this aesthetic, award winning vehicle. If you have any ideas or questions please email us.

Coastal Enterprises Donation - September 24, 2009

Team PrISUm would like to extend a special thanks to Coastal Enterprises for their donation of 3,000 lbs of high density foam and two gallons of PB Bond-240 adhesive. We will be using the materials in the coming weeks as we work to complete the molds for our tenth solar car. We are particularly excited to try the adhesive which is specifically intended for this application.

PrISUm Project 10 Update - September 15, 2009

Now that the American Solar Challenge and Formula Sun Grand Prix 2010 have been announced for this upcoming June, PrISUm is hard at work building it's 10th generation solar car to compete in these events. The most significant change in our new car is that it will have three wheels rather than four. The vehicle will be powered by a single wheel in the rear and the two front wheels will steer. This should shave off some weight and decrease rolling resistance. Because three wheel vehicles can be unstable if not designed properly, the team has put a lot of thought into weight distribution and center of mass. We are currently in the process of building the high density foam molds that we will use to create the body of the car.

FSGP and ASC 2010 Announced - September 10, 2009

The Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) 2010 will be held in Cresson, TX from June 16-18. The American Solar Challenge (ASC) 2010 will begin June 20 in Tulsa, OK. This 1000 plus mile race will end in Chicago, IL on June 27. PrISUm is currently working on building it's 10th generation solar car to compete in these events over the summer. Stay tuned for the latest updates on our progress.

Thanks to New and Returning Sponsors, Plus a New Sundial - August 23, 2009

PrISUm would like to announce new team sponsors! Spirit Aerosystems of Wichita, Kansas, has agreed to donate surplus materials to our team for the construction of our vehicle. BMI Corporation of Greenville, South Carolina, has also donated time and expertise to further analyze the car's aerodynamics. Metalcraft of Mason City, Iowa, has donated logos for our trailer. We are always happy to add sponsors and create new relationships. We hope there will be many more to come.

We would also like to thank all of our current sponsors, especially Stanley Consultants of Muscatine, Alliant Energy of Iowa, and MUSCO Lighting of Muscatine and Oskaloosa. They have chosen to continue their support in this tough economy. This shows how dedicated these Iowa based companies are to sustaining a competitive solar car team at Iowa State University. Without companies like this we would not have been able to compete at the Formula Sun Grand Prix 2009. Additionally we want to thank Boeing, 3M, and Airtech for their continued substantial material donations towards our project.

Last, but certainly not least, we would like to thank our individual private donors without whom we wouldn't exist. A special thanks to Assistant Dean of Engineering Loren Zarchary for a great donation that showed his confidence and pride for our team.

Everyone who donated to team PrISUm will soon be getting the latest edition of the Sundial, which covers events from the spring semester.

20th Anniversary Video - August 17, 2009

Team PrISUm celebrates over two decades of building and racing solar cars at Iowa State University. Check out the video created by the College of Engineering to commemorate this special occasion.

Seventh Place at Formula Sun Grand Prix 2009 - June 10, 2009

Team PrISUm is back in Iowa after competing in the Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) 2009, where we finished seventh in a field of ten. Everything was going smoothly early in the week as we passed all of our scrutineering and dynamic testing. Misfortune struck while we were balancing our battery pack the night before the race was to begin. A nearby lightning strike resulted in a power surge that fried our battery protection system. It ended up taking one and a half days of troubleshooting and repairs before we were able to get the car on the track. Unfortunately we missed the entire first day of racing, but once our car was fixed we immediately performed as well as the top teams. On our first day of racing, we were able to accumulate 204 laps over our 13 hours. On the second day we accumulated 157 laps, which was only a few less than the top team. This was a great, albeit stressful, experience for our team members. Congratulations go out to Minnesota for their impressive victory and thanks especially to Verizon Wireless for providing us with mobile internet at the last minute, which was a life saver.