USI team earns awards at SOLAR SPLASH electric boat competition

In its second year of competing, a team of students from the University of Southern Indiana placed 10th overall and 2nd in the technical report portion of the SOLAR SPLASH competition in Dayton, Ohio.

SOLAR SPLASH is an intercollegiate solar/electric boat regatta featuring teams from colleges and universities across North America. Teams are judged based on their boat's performance in sprint, maneuverability and slalom events, as well on the technical design, visual displays and workmanship of the vehicles.

"The SOLAR SPLASH competition provides a real-world engineering opportunity for the students," said Dr. Paul Kuban, professor of engineering. "They experience the obstacles that occur when translating a paper design to a physical realization, and the triumph of seeing their creations become fully operational in the field."

The team is comprised of USI engineering students and is advised by Kuban. In 2015, USI's team placed 9th overall and was named Top Rookie Team.

For more information about the USI engineering department, visit USI.edu/engineering.