About Us

The University of Calgary Solar Team's purpose is to educate the community about sustainable energy and to serve as an inter-disciplinary project through which students and faculty from various departments can collaborate in supporting sustainable energy.

Our Team was founded in late 2004 in response to the announcement that the North American Solar Challenge (NASC) would end its 4,000 km race in Calgary in July of 2005. Although the original team had only one third the resources and half the time of its competitors, they would go on to finish first in their class and 10th overall at the World Solar Challenge (WSC) in Australia in October 2005. Since then, they have participated in WSC in October 2007, placing 13th overall, and in NASC in June 2008, placing 6th overall. Last summer, the team competed in the American Solar Challenge, placing 6th overall with awards for Mechanical Excellence and Sportsmanship.

Today, the team faces an even greater challenge: to build upon its past successes and to continue its commitment to educate the public about sustainable energy.

Our Team

Project Chairs

Mico Madamesila - Project Co-Chair, Engineering Manager

Mico is a third year mechanical engineering student who joined the Solar Team in his first month of university for the same reasons he is on it today - the team itself and his passion for taking engineering outside the classroom. He currently leads the team as the Project Co-Chair and Engineering Manager. Mico is looking forward to elevating the next generation of solar car racing and would love to drive the car through Calgary itself; "doing so would show our city not only the brilliance and innovation its own students have, but also the dedication they have for the environment".

Jordyn Troyer - Project Co-Chair, Business Manager

Jordyn is in her 4th year of university, concentrating in Energy Management. She has been on the team since her first year in 2008 and currently serves as the Project Co-Chair and Business Manager. Jordyn drove Schulich Axiom in the 2011 Veolia World Solar Challenge in Australia and is looking forward to the amazing learning experience that will come with leading the team during the development of Generation 4.

Electrical Team

Daniel Benavides - Electrical Manager

Daniel is a 2nd year Electrical Engineering major at the University of Calgary, currently serving as the Solar Team's Electrical Engineering Manager. He joined the team in October 2010 because of his deep interest in alternative energy, electrical engineering, and technology. Daniel whole heartedly appreciates the unique opportunity of being at the forefront of developing new technologies in the solar energy field.

George Co

George is in his 3rd year of Electrical Engineering at the University of Calgary and has been with the Solar Team since his 1st year! He joined the team because of his interest in the electrical field. George is involved in array encapsulation management and MPPT algorithm development on Solar Team and will be part of the race team next October for WSC in Australia. When asked what his favorite part about the team is, George said it was hard to choose one favorite part because, “everything becomes a blur, that’s one thing I can say!” but that he loves being in a very close team that is very focused and motivated.

Bryan Guscott

Bryan has been on the Solar Team’s Electrical Team since 2009 as he majors in Electrical Engineering at the University of Calgary. He is very interested in renewable energy and the Solar Team seemed like a fun project where he could apply everything he learns in class to a real world project. Bryan was in the support vehicle in NASC 2010 and since has been focused on working on Axiom’s battery pack. His favorite part about Solar Team is seeing everyone’s reactions to the solar car when it’s out on the roads! “[They] see it as this futuristic vehicle, and that’s really what it is, it’s a vehicle about the future - where energy is going to come from.”

Stephanie Hladik

Stephanie is in her 1st year as an Engineering major at the University of Calgary. She joined the Electrical Team in September 2010 because, "it looked like a really cool way to get involved at the University and would be a great opportunity for hands-on learning". So far, she has been working on wiring the battery pack, making the spacer for the batteries, and general wiring and soldering. Her favorite part about the team is the school visits "the kids are always so interested and ask the best questions!"

Mechanical Team

Matt Johnson - Mechanical Manager

Matt is in his 2nd year as a Mechanical Engineering major at the University of Calgary. He joined the Mechanical Team in November 2010 to learn new things, meet new people, and be involved in a race. In September 2011, Matthew took over as the Mechanical Engineering Manager for the design and construction of the Generation 4 car.

John Fernando

John has been with the Solar Team for a little over two years. After initially being dragged onto the team by his brother, John has come to enjoy the variety of opportunities the team has had and continues to offer. His love for building cars, interest in alternative forms of energy, and feelings of accomplishment from being on the team has lead him to the position as the Solar Team's mechanical manager. Knowing that he played a key role in building the solar car from the ground up is a one of the many aspects about being on the team John likes most. As a fourth year student with a mechanical engineering major and working towards his mechatronics minor, John is extremely busy. His schedule still allows for him time to play piano (has his performers ARCT), and play soccer as well as hockey.

Steve Trembath

Steve is a 3rd year Mechanical Engineering major at the University of Calgary. Originally hearing about the Solar Team through television coverage of NASC 2008 and joining in his first semester, Steve has now been with the team for three years. Valuing the team experience that the Solar Team provides, Steve has earned a spot to attend the World Solar Challenge (WSC) next October in Australia. Hoping to extend this trip for a bit to spend time with family in Australia and tour the Great Berrier Reef, he plans on soon returning back to Calgary to continue working on a 12-16 month internship. His hobby of flying planes has led him to aspire to be a test pilot for aero space research.

Edward Kwong

Edward is a 5th year economics major. He has been a member of the Solar Team for two years. In this time he has managed to do a Co-op designation work program with the Foothills Hospital. Convinced by a friend to join the Solar Team, Edward has made many friends—“People are what the team is all about” he stated in his interview. Having never left North America, Edward is looking forward to the World Solar Challenge (WSC) in October, 2011.

Eiden Yoshida

Eiden is a 2nd year Mechanical Engineering major at the University of Calgary. He joined the Mechanical Team in September 2010 to "gain practical experience in a real engineering project". So far he has been creating test jigs and helping with new part designs. He also enjoys going on the team's school visits and having a laugh when he taped up another team member's shoes to beat the cold outside! His favorite part about the team is the hands-on experience and the chance to meet many new people.

Huayang Zheng

Huayang is a 2nd year Mechanical Engineering major at the University of Calgary. He joined the Solar Team in September 2010 and works on the Mechanical Team. His favorite part about the experience is the great team spirit and hands-on work.

Isabel Chan

Isabel is in her 3rd year of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Calgary. She joined the Mechanical Team in May 2009 because she wanted to get technical experience outside of lectures. Since then, she has been working on the array stand design and aero shell construction. Her favorite element of the team is, "watching the designs being executed from inception to implementation". Outside of the team, "you'll likely find me swing dancing or singing to musicals".

Mark MacDonald

Mark is in his 4th year of studies as a Mechanical Engineering major at the University of Calgary. He joined the Mechanical Team in September 2010 because he loves to race! Since joining the team, he has been, "learning from the more experienced members on the team". Before he joined the team, Mark raced bikes on the national team and now brings his own unique racing perspective to the car's technical aspects. His favorite aspect of the team is the team members, "I like the people on our team. I've never worked in such a supportive and fun environment before… My fondest memories are of playing street hockey after a long day in the shop."

Robin Singh

Robin is a 2nd year Mechanical Engineering major at the University of Calgary. He joined the Mechanical Team in 2010 because it, "seemed like a very cool thing and I wanted to be a part of it". So far, he has been involved in the Schulich Axiom Weight Loss Program and helping build new parts for the car. His favorite part about the team is meeting new people and learning new things.

Scott Nesbitt

Scott completed his 3rd year of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Calgary. He is currently on internship in Switzerland, though he stays involved from afar and will be going to Australia with us for WSC 2010! Scott joined the team in October 2007 as a Mechanical Team member and was our Mechanical Manager for the first phase of "Gen 3", better known now as Schulich Axiom. Scott joined the team because he knew he wanted to be involved in a design team and Solar Team posed the greatest challenge for him. "There's not much that's trivial in the design of solar cars. Everything needs to be scrutinized for efficiency". Though he won't pick just one favorite aspect of the team, Scott enjoys meeting many new people and friends, learning plenty of new things, and getting his monies worth out of the University experience.

Communications Team

Jodi Bengtson - Communications Manager

Jodi is in her final year studying for a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing. She joined the team in 2010 and has since been involved in everything from coordinating school visits, to planning the team's events, to keeping the community and Solar Team's supporters updated through the team's blog, social media, and media coverage. She is the team's Communications Manager and directs the communications team in organizing all the Solar Team's events and public relations related activities.

Lauren Vathje

Lauren is in her 3rd year of Mechanical Engineering/Linguistics and Language at the University of Calgary. She joined the team in 2009 as a Mechanical Team member, but has since joined the Communications Team as our School Visit Coordinator. She takes care of arranging all of the Solar Team's visits to schools across Calgary and Alberta to educate the community about sustainable energy. Her favorite part of the team is that, "I love the motives that drive the team. Everyone is sincere and passionate and wonderful to work with." One of Lauren's most memorable moments on the team was doing crash testing on the car, on the coldest day of the year!

Sponsorship Team

Dan Christie - Sponsorship Manager

Dan is currently in his 3rd year of school completing a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing. He joined the team in 2010 and was essential in raising the remaining funds to complete the Schulich Axiom project. Dan believes that "the Solar Team has great team dynamics," and we agree with him! Dan has taken on the role of Sponsorship Manager, and he will be working hard to fund the team's plans for Generation 4.

Race Logistics Team

Brigitte Sullivan - Race Logistics Manager

Brigitte is a fourth year business student and is currently serving as the Solar Team's Race Logistics Manager for Generation 4. Her favorite moments on the team consist of those where all members come together for the common goals of the team. Preparing for both SAAT and WSC 2011 were both great examples of the amount of team effort exerted, as everyone's individual efforts came together to form that great final performance.

Accounting Team

Kaelan Goode - Accounting Manager

Kaelan is a third year accounting student who joined the Solar Team to meet a fun group of people and be involved in the building and completion of an interesting, unique project. He is in charge of book keeping and making sure the team's finances are in order, but you can routinely find him in the shop, lending a hand to the engineers with the solar car construction and design discussions.