{"218401":{"#nid":"218401","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Solar Jackets \u2018Endeavour\u2019 Takes Team to Austin","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe forecast calls for sunny weather this week in Austin, Texas, which is good news for 11 Georgia Tech students whose solar-powered car \u2013 the Endeavour \u2013 makes its racing debut there this Thursday at the Formula Sun Grand Prix.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe annual competition pits student-built cars from 12 North American universities against one another to test their handling of curves, braking and acceleration, all powered by the sun. The winner is determined by the total number of laps completed during three days of racing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cI haven\u0027t competed before, so I\u0027m really looking forward to watching our car race against other schools,\u201d said Douglas Cox, a mechanical engineering major, Solar Jackets president and one of four drivers of the Endeavour. He and about 35 other students have been building the Endeavour for the past three years. \u201cIt\u0027ll be great to learn from the other schools as well, as some of them have been building and racing solar cars for years.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe weeklong competition began Monday with three days of \u201cscrutineering,\u201d where professional engineers assess each car to ensure it meets race regulations pertaining to safety, driver comfort and solar cells, as well as performance tests for turning, braking and handling. Four drivers will rotate during racing to relieve one another from the small interior space.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn recent weeks, an electrical team has been working to finalize airgap settings, which affect speed, as well as implement battery management systems, digital controls, data logging and other communications systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Endeavour is topped with solar panels from \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.suniva.com\/\u0022\u003ESuniva\u003C\/a\u003E, a spinoff company from Georgia Tech\u2019s University Center of Excellence in Photovoltaics, and SBM Solar. The Endeavour can run for about two hours with no sunlight, but theoretically could run forever if the sun never set.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe\u0027re still testing for how long it takes to charge from empty to full charge, but the hope is that we\u0027ll run the car at a low enough speed that will use only as much or slightly more energy than the sun is giving us, which would allow us to race all day without any breaks,\u201d Cox said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team completing the fastest single lap is recognized, in addition to the winner, but for Cox, the real prize is \u201cthe glory of knowing you\u2019ve raced a car on solar power alone.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe car\u2019s namesake and number come from the Space Shuttle Endeavour\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/STS-49\u0022\u003ESTS-49\u003C\/a\u003E. After the Endeavour completes its races in Austin, it will make its way back to Atlanta and go on display at sponsor companies\u2019 headquarters and on campus at the FASET Opportunities Fair. The Solar Jackets\u2019 next endeavor \u2013 pun intended \u2013 will be to further optimize their car for future races, as well as begin working on designs for a new lighter and faster car.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECompetition activities began Monday, and racing begins Thursday. Follow the team\u2019s progress on \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/facebook.com\/solarjackets\u0022\u003EFacebook\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/twitter.com\/solarjackets\u0022\u003ETwitter\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe student group Solar Jackets built a solar-powered car they will race in the Formula Sun Grand Prix in Austin, TX.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The student group Solar Jackets built a solar-powered car they will race in the Formula Sun Grand Prix in Austin, TX."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2013-06-21 11:02:56","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:23","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-06-25T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-06-25T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"218381":{"id":"218381","type":"image","title":"Solar Jackets Car, the Endeavour","body":null,"created":"1449180130","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:02:10","changed":"1475894885","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:05","alt":"Solar Jackets Car, the Endeavour","file":{"fid":"197190","name":"solar_jackets.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/solar_jackets_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/solar_jackets_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":6085797,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/solar_jackets_0.jpg?itok=mef8-2t7"}},"218391":{"id":"218391","type":"image","title":"Solar Jackets Endeavor Team","body":null,"created":"1449180130","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:02:10","changed":"1475894885","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:05","alt":"Solar Jackets Endeavor Team","file":{"fid":"197191","name":"team_picture_1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/team_picture_1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/team_picture_1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5143251,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/team_picture_1_0.jpg?itok=nvrvwWx4"}},"218361":{"id":"218361","type":"image","title":"Solar Jackets Put the Top on the Endeavour","body":null,"created":"1449180130","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:02:10","changed":"1475894885","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:05","alt":"Solar Jackets Put the Top on the Endeavour","file":{"fid":"197188","name":"putting_the_top_on_2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/putting_the_top_on_2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/putting_the_top_on_2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3427935,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/putting_the_top_on_2_0.jpg?itok=-7F18-v4"}},"218351":{"id":"218351","type":"image","title":"Solar Jackets Put the Top on the Endeavour","body":null,"created":"1449180130","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:02:10","changed":"1475894885","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:05","alt":"Solar Jackets Put the Top on the Endeavour","file":{"fid":"197187","name":"putting_the_top_on_1.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/putting_the_top_on_1_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/putting_the_top_on_1_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3599160,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/putting_the_top_on_1_0.jpg?itok=KTU64gpK"}},"218371":{"id":"218371","type":"image","title":"Solar Jackets Put the Top on the Endeavour","body":null,"created":"1449180130","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 22:02:10","changed":"1475894885","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:05","alt":"Solar Jackets Put the Top on the Endeavour","file":{"fid":"197189","name":"putting_the_top_on_3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/putting_the_top_on_3_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/putting_the_top_on_3_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3756475,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/putting_the_top_on_3_0.jpg?itok=p_YRK-7I"}}},"media_ids":["218381","218391","218361","218351","218371"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/americansolarchallenge.org\/the-competion\/fsgp-2013\/","title":"2013 Formula Sun Grand Prix"},{"url":"http:\/\/SolarJackets.gatech.edu\/","title":"Solar Jackets"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"169384","name":"solar jackets"},{"id":"167364","name":"solar power"},{"id":"166847","name":"students"},{"id":"166856","name":"Suniva"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:solarjackets@gatech.edu\u0022\u003EDouglas Cox\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ESolar Jackets\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:kristen.bailey@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EKristen Bailey\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EInstitute Communications\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}