New Year, New Team


Featured, General / Wednesday, November 6th, 2019

Riding high off of our previous win at the Texas Motor Speedway, the next generation of RAHS Green Energy Team members are geared up and eager to kick off the new year!

Lauren Vitellaro (12) gets her bearings our competition car during the Green Energy Team open house.

We’ve grown since last year. Twelve new excited members have joined the team, ready to apply their interests in a variety of different sub-teams: Our structures team is working on the car’s initial designs, while mechanical team members are researching new brake and steering systems; the electrical team is preparing for the upcoming task of designing a battery for the new car, and our communication team is working hard to spread the team’s image around the local community. 

We’re entering this year with a new, refined vision. On top of improving our leadership structure, we’ve introduced new subteams to better organize our efforts in the coming months. This year, the team has embraced the ideal that every team member has a task, a lead, and most importantly, a goal. Max Welliver (11), a member of the structural subteam, is currently working with Lead Technical Mentor, Alain Semet, to develop a realistic model for the new car’s aerodynamic performance on the track. “Autodesk Flow is a great tool to examine flow fields and pressure gradients around the aerodynamics of our solar car. I am planning on a degree in aerospace engineering, so it is beneficial to apply a virtual wind tunnel to the car; something I may be doing with aircraft in the near future.”

Jeremy Boyle (12), and Lead Technical Mentor Alain Semet work with Boeing Materials Engineer Les Tardiff to decide key design choices on the car.

In the weeks to come, we will progress from digital models and rough-hewn physical “mockpits” to cutting steel for the new car. Hai Lin Truman (9) is one of the students taking point in designing and manufacturing this year’s cockpit. Hai Lin joined the team after attending our open house. “I joined the team because I wanted to further my knowledge in design. I really wanted to learn how solar energy works and how it can be used to power a car! Renewable energies will be a really big part of our future and it will give me a head start in my career.” 

There’s a palpable sense of anticipation in the shop and during team meetings that’s driving us into the coming months of work. We hope you’re as excited as we are to soar into this year!

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