Main Line High School Solar Car Team is First PA High School Team to Compete in National Race

May 5, 2011 - PRLog -- Devon Prep’s Solar Car Team, “The Devon Panel,” is in the process of building a solar powered vehicle to race at the 2011 Hunt-Winston Solar Car Challenge (http://www.winstonsolar.org/challenge/ ) in Dallas, TX, this summer. Devon Prep’s team will be the first Pennsylvania high school team to compete in this closed track national competition. They recently brought their project, a 12 ft. X 2 ft. rolling chassis with a seat and steering wheel, to Devon Prep’s campus for faculty and students to see their progress.

The team consists of five Devon Prep sophomores, Jacob Riedel, Antonio Muscarella, Chris Clayton, Zach Schaefer, and Rich Gargano.

“When I first heard about this project I thought it was a really cool idea. I’m interested in ecology and this seemed like a great way to get into green technology,” said Jacob Riedel, who spearheaded the project. “I’ve learned so much. I know about battery power, motors, how the strength of steel is determined, how solar panels are made. It’s been a great experience.”

These young men have been working on this project for nearly a year. Building a car like this isn’t easy or cheap so they began with a mission statement, created a Facebook page and a website (http://thedevonpanel.club.officelive.com/default.aspx ), and researched how to solicit for donations. With help from parents, school administrators, friends and alumni they have raised several thousand dollars, gleaned valuable information, and were even able to acquire some equipment for free, such as the costly solar panels donated by Motech Industries Inc., in Newark, Delaware.

“Getting those six solar panels for free was so exciting,” Riedel said. “It lifted a big financial burden for us.”

Earlier this year Riedel and his father attended a Solar Car Challenge workshop in Texas where they learned how to wire the car, what motors work best, and other useful information.  The boys have taken the project from concept to reality through hundreds of hours of research, trial and error, and hard work.

“I assumed that the project would be an enormous undertaking that would take a lot of effort, time, dedication and research,’’ said Antonio Muscarella. “But it’s all been worth it.  It’s really a fun experience and we’re learning at the same time and that’s the best part about it.  You get such a sense of accomplishment, and in the end you’ve actually built a car!”

The race will be held from July 18-21 on the Texas Motor Speedway.  According to both Jacob and Antonio, winning is not the goal this year. “Our main goal is to not come off the track, and to not have any unexpected stops. We don’t have to win. We just want to finish,” Riedel said.

For Muscarella, who wants to study biology in college, there is another significant aspect to this whole event, the effects on the environment.  “I’m always worried about pollution and the environment and the detrimental effects car emissions has on the environment,” he explained. “The idea that all these schools from all around the country come together and create designs for solar powered cars – I hope it would inspire car makers to look for alternative sources of energy.”

The Devon Panel hopes to have a completed car, which they have named “Sol TIDE,” before the school year ends so they can bring it back to campus and actually drive it around for everyone to see.

The Solar Car Challenge was established in 1993 to help motivate students in science and engineering, and to increase alternative energy awareness. In 1993, the Winston Solar Car Team launched an education program to teach high school students how to build and safely race roadworthy solar cars. The Winston Solar Education Program met this objective, and works to provide curriculum materials, on-site visits, and workshop opportunities for high schools across the country. The end product of each two-year education cycle is the Winston Solar Challenge: a closed-track event at the world famous Texas Motor Speedway, or a cross country event designed to give students an opportunity to display their work.

Devon Prep is a private, Catholic, college preparatory school for young men in grades six through 12 conducted by the Piarist Fathers. The school, which is located on a 20 acre campus in Devon, Pa, educates nearly 300 students who hail from the five county Philadelphia area. For more information call 610-688-7337, or visit www.devonprep.com or www.facebook.com/devonprep.