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Project Manager's Memo
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by Jed Christiansen, Project Manager
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 s I look back upon the progress that the Solar Car Team has made this summer, I am truly amazed. It is certainly obvious that we have had several active team members throughout the past four months. Though some areas of the car aren't as on schedule as our original (ambitious)
plan, others are far ahead of schedule. We are well-suited for the next year of intense activity.
One of the most challenging tasks we have ahead of us this next year is preparing for World Solar Challenge 99. The team announced in our first Solar Express that we were considering the possibility of going to WSC 99. Since then, our vehicle, personnel, and financial situation have progressed enough so that we can emphatically make a committment to going
to Australia in October of 1999.
To race in Australia takes an incredible committment of both financial resources and team member time. This next year will be even more hectic than the past year in our fund-raising and logistical efforts. Since
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WSC has no restrictions on solar cell technology or cost, we hope to construct an entirely new array for the race. Purchasing new solar cells for this purpose can easily cost upwards of several hundred thousand dollars. The cost of logistically taking our team and equipment to Australia and racing there is another significant hurdle. However, based on our
successes of the past year, the team feels it can finally race in Australia for the first time since Maize&Blue in 1993.
I would like to extend a special note of thanks to Ryan Smith, Materials/Manufacturing Director and Heather Nettle, Array Team Leader. Both have held jobs on campus this summer, and they have both sacrificed a lot of time this summer to help with Solar Car Team public events. There are so many events to name, I'll just ask you to check the News
section of our MaizeBlaze home page. On that note, please take a look at Sean Kennedy's article on his amazing improvements to the team web page. It is certainly one of the most pleasing and useful web sites I've seen recently!
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Solar Car at the Stadium
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by José Alvarez, Special Projects Director
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In the last few years the athletic department has been sprucing up the Michigan Football Stadium by creating brick plazas at each of the main entrance gates. The latest addition was Wolverine Plaza at the northwest corner of the stadium grounds. The solar car team asked it's alumni, as well as current members, to help fund a brick for this plaza. The brick itself
was of the largest
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size available to the general public and cost $1,000. The brick lists all of the past car's names and recognizes Sunrunner's and Maize & Blue's National Championship. The brick plaza will make its debut on September 12 when Michigan plays Syracuse. Go Blue!
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