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CARS worked on M-pulse Maize & Blue MaizeBlaze Momentum Solar Vision See all 7 related cars	TEAM University of Michigan Solar Car Team University of Michigan OCID te00000006	EVENTS attended North American Solar ... World Solar Challenge... Formula Sun Grand Pri... Formula Sun Grand Pri... American Solar Challe... See all 13 related events

	USER team members Christiansen, Jed Churchill, Chris Ignaut, Brian Moerland, Russ Nazeeri, Furqan See all 7 related users


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	University of Michigan Solar Car Team University of Michigan http://www.umsolar.com/ solarcar@umich.edu Address 3411 EECS Building 1301 Beal Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2116 United States 734-764-2257 734-647-4746 (f) Year founded 1989



	Related Content (26)

	Maize & Blue after Sunrayce 93 with some of the team Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 7/21/1993 submitted 1/4/2004 01:13:44 PM Here is a shot of Maize & Blue with a few of the team members. This shot is back on the University of Michigan's Engineering campus. Note the trophy for winning Sunrayce 93.

	Maize & Blue Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 7/17/1993 submitted 1/17/2004 07:28:11 AM Maize & Blue with some of the team after winning Sunrayce 93. Photo is taken in front of the EECS building on U-M's North Campus.

	Maize & Blue in Australia Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 11/20/1993 submitted 12/27/2003 12:30:36 PM This is a unique shot of Maize & Blue in Australia in that shortly after this picture, all of the decals were removed for the actual race.

	Testing Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 5/17/1993 submitted 1/17/2004 07:29:39 AM Deanna in Maize & Blue for more testing at Michigan International Speedway. Note the fastening of the array to the body with 1/4-turn fasteners.

	Full scale wind tunnel testing of Maize & Blue Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 7/15/1993 submitted 1/4/2004 01:08:40 PM In order to verify the computer models, we did full scale wind tunnel testing of Maize & Blue at Lockheed's facility in Georgia. The primary useful feedback from the testing was in regard to the design and usefulness of the wheel opening covers which were subsequently redesigned. Of course, it was also useful to have actual drag data for use in our race strategy similator.

	Maize & Blue after winning Sunrayce 93 Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 6/26/1993 submitted 1/4/2004 01:11:20 PM This is a nice shot of Deanna Winton in Maize & Blue immediately after winning Sunrayce 93.

	Maize & Blue Winning Sunrayce 93 Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 6/26/1993 submitted 1/4/2004 01:03:56 PM Maize & Blue crossing the finish line at the Minneapolis zoo on June 26, 1993. This is the ceremonial finish line (the timed finish was about 1 km earlier).

	Maize & Blue Testing Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 4/17/1993 submitted 1/17/2004 07:19:50 AM This is a shot of Maize & Blue testing at Michigan International Speedway prior to Sunrayce 93.

	Maize & Blue Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 3/17/1993 submitted 1/17/2004 07:27:06 AM Maize & Blue at the official unveiling of the vehicle along with our four drivers: Deanna, Kevin, Betsy and Andris (front to back).

	1/4-Scale Model Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 6/17/1992 submitted 1/17/2004 07:35:58 AM An NC-milled 1/4-scale model of Maize & Blue being tested in U-M's 5'x7' wind tunnel. Note the smoke flow visualization.

	Body Panel Being Painted Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 12/17/1992 submitted 1/17/2004 07:38:47 AM Maize & Blue's main body panel being prepared for painting at BASF's facility in Detroit.

	Body Mold Fabrication Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 8/17/1992 submitted 1/17/2004 07:33:32 AM A shot of some team members finishing a wet layup of Maize & Blue's array mold. An interesting story about this was that we had planned to NC-mill the molds directly using a high-temperature material (REN board). Unfortunately, after we had milled several molds, we discovered that the material was defective (i.e. unstable at high temperatures). So we then had to do wet layups to cast a "male" and then do that again to cast a "female" mold. Moral of the story: make sure your materials are what you ordered!

	Funraising For Maize & Blue Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 1/18/1991 submitted 1/18/2004 05:56:49 AM In 1991 we launched the "Buy A Cell" campaign with an 8.5x14-inch, tri-fold brochure designed by our Art/Design team members. We were "selling" cells for $100 each. We had gotten the brochures printed up for pretty close to free, and I think we netted something like $10-15K from the effort. Overall, it was not a particularly good return on time. The method of distribution back in the early 90's was limited to mailings and the hit rate just wasn't good enough. I think a better strategy today would be to create a brochure as a PDF and distribute via email to alumni. With almost zero marginal cost, a program like that could make a lot of sense.

	Maize & Blue Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 7/18/1993 submitted 1/18/2004 05:31:41 AM Color version of the earlier photo showing Maize & Blue between Sunrayce 93 and the World Solar Challenge.

	Maize & Blue Before WSC Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 7/18/1993 submitted 1/18/2004 05:25:22 AM A shot of Maize & Blue in "australian logos" in Ann Arbor before shipping off to Australia. Note how in the picture, Maize & Blue is equipped with 20" wheels instead of the "normal" 17" wheels. We had retrofitted these onto the car in anticipation of rough road surfaces in the Outback. We also did full-scale wind tunnel testing at Lockheed's facilities in Georgia to validate that the extra height didn't increase vehicle drag. As it turned out, we never needed to use these larger wheels (which had higher rolling resistance) as the custom Michelin tires performed very well in the World Solar Challenge.

	Early Artist's Rendering of Maize & Blue Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 8/18/1991 submitted 1/18/2004 05:07:41 AM An artist from 3M did this early rendition of Maize & Blue. My biggest recollection of this drawing is that, at the time, we were very scared that the competition would get ahold of it...as if that would have mattered!

	Deanna Winton in Maize & Blue Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 6/26/1993 submitted 1/18/2004 05:44:57 AM A nice black and white shot of Deanna in Maize & Blue immediately after winning Sunrayce 93. Note the bouquet of "sun flowers" instead of roses typical in Indy races.

	Drivers of Maize & Blue Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 4/18/1993 submitted 1/18/2004 05:12:43 AM A rare photo of the drivers of Maize & Blue at the unveiling of the car that is signed by each driver. Note that Deanna and Andris (front) were the primary drivers and were the only drivers to drive during the actual races.

	Maize & Blue 1/4-Scale Model Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 6/18/1992 submitted 1/18/2004 05:17:53 AM After we completed the wind tunnel testing with the NC-milled final 1/4-scale model of Maize & Blue, we painted on some logos and took some publicity shots, of which this is one.

	Maize & Blue Before Sunrayce Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 5/18/1993 submitted 1/18/2004 05:34:58 AM A shot of Maize & Blue testing at Michigan International Speedway prior to Sunrayce 93. Note that M&B is missing the trailing edge which was probably the last significant part of the car to be built. The trailing edge housed the tail lamps as well as the CCD rear vision system.

	Maize & Blue Test Chassis Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 11/18/1991 submitted 1/18/2004 05:20:42 AM This is another shot of the Maize & Blue test chassis. For cost and simplicity's sake, we had made the test chassis frame from steel rather than aluminum. Also, you'll see the plywood battery box in this photo. The battery box proved to be one of the most difficult pieces of the car to engineer. Originally designed using carbon fiber, we ultimately opted for welded aluminum plates.

	Early Photo of Maize & Blue Team Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 3/18/1991 submitted 1/18/2004 05:04:14 AM Here is an early photo of the 1993 University of Michigan Solar Car Team with faculty advisor Dr. Bruce Karnopp.

	Maize & Blue Team Logo Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 6/18/1993 submitted 1/18/2004 05:43:02 AM It was probably a waste of money and time, but early on in the project, we had some team members on who were Art/Design students who we commissioned to design a team logo. We ended up choosing the fast moving sun and then went on to emblazon it all over everything. It definitely gave us a sense of identity and probably the biggest thing was that it helped us distinguish ourselves from the previous team (national champion 1990 team). I suppose it also added to the professionalism of the team (as it was on EVERYTHING from T-shirts, to business cards, letter head, banners (shown here), trucks, you name it). Interstingly, it wasn't on the car.

	Maize & Blue Test Chassis Photo by Furqan Nazeeri created 11/18/1991 submitted 1/18/2004 05:16:17 AM In late 1991, we wanted to test out the concept of putting the driver in front of the front wheels, which served to improve the aerodynamics of the vehicle. To test this we built the "test chassis" and this is a photo of Jeff Reece driving the contraption on a test track. This test chassis was instrumental in our success, not from the simple fact of validating the design concept, but in allowing us to gain experience at the component level of many designs. We avoided a lot of "novice mistakes" in the final vehicle as a result of this. My favorite mistake on the test chassis was a misalignment of the drive train and suspension which caused the rear end of the vehicle to "buck in the air" whenever the driver pressed the accelerator. It was one of those things that always got a laugh during the actual race when we saw a competitor's car "buck" off the starting line. Moral of the story: you can never test too much.

	Weather Forecasting in Sunrayce 93 (by Jeff Zoltowski) Article by Furqan Nazeeri created 6/20/1993 submitted 1/18/2004 07:56:32 AM This paper recounts Michigan's use of weather forecasting as a competitive weapon in Sunrayce '93. Jeff was one of 3 weather forecasters on the team and their collective ability to forecast weather was instrumental in Michigan's victory. An excellent read!

	Weather Forecasting for Maize & Blue (by Joe Bartlo) Article by Furqan Nazeeri created 6/26/1993 submitted 1/18/2004 08:59:15 AM This is a paper written by Joseph Bartlo about Maize & Blue's use of weather in its race strategy in Sunrayce 93 and the World Solar Challenge '93.