Yesterday Recap and Scrutineering

Hello all!
Yesterday was a busy day, and we didn't get around to blogging. To recap, Dr. Marks invited us to be one of the Solar Cars used to train the judges for the scrutineering on Sunday (today). Our drivers did great on the slalom course, and the car successfully completed the U turn and brake tests. By the end of the day, we had those completed as well as the endurance portion, due to the past Plano race. It was a great opportunity we were happy to have.

Today, the team got up bright and early and was first in line at the track to do the last two stations for scrutineering- the Mechanical and Electrical stations. Once there, the judges pointed out some changes we needed to make to the car to prepare it for the rigors of the race, such as strengthening our rod for the pedals and securing the electronic equipment for the likely rains this week. The team finished up early and was home a bit after 10:30 to begin the changes to the car. We are about to head home to change for the opening ceremony tonight- everyone is excited for the ceremony and for the race to begin tomorrow!

Getting Ready!

Hello all, our Aurora Team has been working diligently all week as they finish up the last few things for the race. The batteries continue to be conditioned, and our programming expert Chris is putting the finishing touches on the CRio. All is going well as we gear up for this last leg before the race!

Car at the national STEM conference

Coppell Solar is representing the Solar Car Challenge at the U.S. News STEM Solutions Conference in Dallas.  The focus of the conference is to improve STEM Education and opportunities in the US. 

The car has only been here for a few minutes and has drawn a crowd.  Our school, parents, and commune ity should be proud of what our students have done. 

Solar car team in the news

Check out the solar car team on the news (WFAA - channel 8) on Tuesday, June 19 from 5am to 7am.  They are doing a piece about the solar car race and featuring our team as they work on the car. 

Summer is here!

Hello all!
Summer has begun, and our team has kept busy. The Aurora team has been working diligently to prepare for this summer's race, and two of our students have recently arrived- the Outlaw Mechanical Lead, Alex Mudd, has recently returned from France and the Outlaw Captain, Spencer Coberly, just came back from a camp at West Point. We will be sure to keep everyone updated as our team travels to various camps and places!

In addition, we would like to give a big shout out to our incoming Freshmen and Sophomores, who have been attending the work sessions to get a leg up on understanding the solar car's design and the team itself. The team is running smoothly as it settles into its summer routine

Meet the Race Team: Kaelan

 Kaelan has been on the team since her sophomore year in 2009. She is now a senior and is also the Team Captain. Kaelan was on the race team last year when the car competed at Texas Motor Speedway. Currently she and the other Aurora team members are trying to improve the car’s performance by 20% before the race this summer. 

When she has free time, she enjoys fishing, shooting guns, and hanging out with friends. Kaelan chose to pursue engineering in high school because she enjoys working with her hands. She joined the solar car team because it interested her more than any of the other competition teams. 

Kaelan plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin in the fall. She wants to double major in mechanical engineering and life sciences because she aspires to be a veterinarian. After UT she hopes to be accepted to the vet school at Texas A&M University.

Meet the Varsity Team: Spencer

My name is Spencer, and I am a Junior on the Coppell Solar Racing Team. Right now, I am the Outlaw team manager and the Business Director for the team. As such, I oversee both cars' finances and budgets, as well as working on fundraising and sponsorships. As the team manager, I discuss the schedule and any problems we are encountering with the Mechanical and Electrical leads. I joined the team two years ago because I would rather build something physical and use what we are learning in the Academy, rather than staying with just the conceptual or small scale projects. My time on the team has been great, from spending time with the upperclassmen from last year and watching our designs take life to taking part in interviews and sponsorship presentations. 

Aside from the team, two interesting facts are that I play flute in the band at Coppell, and I have recently taken up boxing outside of school. Between boxing, band, and solar car I stay busy during the year, but they are helping to prepare me for the full college schedule. This is especially true for West Point, where I hope to attend college and major in Mechanical Engineering.