Hello everyone,

This will be the last post on this website. We’ve moved to an all-new website! You can find us now at www.calgarysolarcar.ca!

Feature-rich and interactive, our new site is going to deliver next-level content and give you a peek into our work like never before. What we do, and more importantly, why we do it, it is at the core of this new site. It’s slick, beautiful, and responsive. This new site is fully integrated with our Facebook and Twitter feeds to bring up-to-date content right to the front page. And it has a great mobile version to follow us on the go on your smartphone or tablet!

Worried about not being able to look up old blog posts? Don’t fret! Any blog post you would have found on this site or from our previous blog (www.calgarysolarteam.blogspot.com) is on the new site! We’ve brought together our team’s entire online presence since 2007 under one roof.

Thanks for following us all these years, and please continue to follow us in our lead-up to our Alberta Tour and WSC 2013!

As always, you can find us on Facebook and on Twitter!

We’ve got some exciting times ahead. See you on the other side!

Riccardo Palladini

Communications Co-Manager

The past couple of months have been very successful for the sponsorship team, and we are eager to update you on our progress!

Firstly, the sponsorship team is excited that ConocoPhillips Canada, a long-time and dedicated sponsor, has decided to increase their investment for our project. ConocoPhillips had also provided us with invaluable support in the 2011 World Solar Challenge in Australia. We are grateful that they will continue to play a critical role in our success in this year’s World Solar Challenge.

Secondly, BP Canada has agreed to increase their funding support and is now a Gold Level Sponsor! Their commitment to our initiative has been tremendous throughout the years, and we look forward to their continued support to ensure the success of our project.

Thirdly, the team is excited to announce that Bonnie Huynh will be taking over as Sponsorship Manager from Nizar Walji effective May 1, 2013. Nizar will be graduating this year and will be participating in the 2013 World Solar Challenge. Bonnie’s commitment to the team has been exemplary and we look forward to her taking this team to new heights. We would like to say thank you to Nizar for all of his hard work and success this year.

Finally, the sponsorship team is also working closely with our Communications team in arranging the Solar Car Team’s participating in the Calgary  Youth Science Fair, a BP sponsored event, which will be held on April 19^th and April 20^th. We are also continuing to pursue our fundraising objectives and we are hopeful that we will be able to achieve our target.

Sponsorship Team

The race logistics team has been really busy preparing for our upcoming Alberta tour and World Solar Challenge. To give you an idea of what we’ve done so far, below is a list of our major milestones. We have successfully:

•   Booked pre and post race accommodations
•   Booked international flights to and from Australia
•   Selected the race convoy vehicles and driver arrangements
•   Participated in ongoing fitness training for the drivers on a weekly basis
•   Selected a shipping vendor and streamlined our international shipping process
•   Planned the race testing activities including an 8-day Alberta tour and closed-course solar car testing
•   Succession planning for the 2014 race logistics

The race logistics team will only get busier in the next few months leading up to the Alberta Tour and World Solar Challenge. I’ve been so lucky to have two amazing coordinators working closely with me to ensure we’ve thought through every detail and optimized our race team preparation. Riccardo Palladini and Brenda Nguyen both joined us this year and have been phenomenal team members, a true testament to what this team is all about.

Our solar car drivers prepare physically before any race as it helps develop endurance, core strength and concentration. These skills are important when racing a solar car across the outback. I have started attending the driver fitness training sessions and our trainer, Crystal, definitely makes us work! Below are some pictures of us breaking a sweat at the last session. Although the exercises are challenging, I always find it to be lots of fun and a great break from studying. The sessions, I’ve noticed though, are getting easier, but we all know that it’s just us getting better! It’s really great to see other team members attend as well.

There are so many other great things on the horizon for the team; this is by far one of the most exciting times on the team since I’ve joined. I hope you will all continue to follow our progress and share with us our journey toward driving change!

Brigitte Sullivan
Race Logistics Manager

After the success of unveiling Schulich Delta, the communications team has now begun to plan for the Schulich Delta Alberta Tour, as well as summer events in and around the city. April is beginning to look like a busy month for the team. We are honored to be a part of the first Western Robotics Competition which runs April 4th-6th at the University of Calgary Olympic Oval. There will be high school students competing from across the country.

On April 19th we are also very excited to be involved in the Calgary Youth Science Fair, which is also being held at the University of Calgary Olympic Oval. This is a great event that involves approximately 800 students, Grades 5-12, from Calgary and surrounding areas.We will be available in the center of the oval in between the two judging periods.

Our Alberta tour will be taking place from May 6th – 13th. During this tour we will be driving around the province of Alberta testing Schulich Delta, while also reaching out to as many communities and schools as possible. As the communications team, we are involved in planning any school visits or community events that happen on the tour. Lake Louise and Edmonton are just a couple of the many cities and towns that we plan to visit on the tour. More detailed information about the route is to come. Keep your eyes peeled on the Alberta highways for our newest generation!

As a team we are committed to attending at least two events per month from May to August. Currently we are looking forward to participating in the Kite and Renewable Energy Festival being held in Airdrie, Alberta on July 20th.

We hope to see you all there!

Jillian Stephenson

Communications Manager

The past month has been all about testing for the electrical team. Team members have been busy testing new systems on Schulich Axiom against previous versions and tweaking designs, while eagerly awaiting the completion of Schulich Delta’s bottom shell. Once the bottom shell is completed in the coming weeks, we will begin the laborious task of mounting the electrical systems on the new car and then begin testing on the new platform.

In the coming months there will be many long days in the shop working to get everything installed in Schulich Delta. For example, the array alone contains several hundred electrical leads that need to be connected in an orderly manner. There is also a lot of wiring to be done to complete the battery pack and power system for the new car.

Since my last update, our array team has reached a major milestone and has produced a full cars worth of good quality encapsulated cells. I am extremely proud of our teams ability to produce such a vast amount of quality encapsulations in house.

After all the hours of design and testing, we are all eagerly awaiting the day when we see it all come together on Schulich Delta.

Ian Haigh
Electrical Engineering Manager

With the World Solar Challenge (WSC) just months away our team has been in full swing preparing for the event!

On the engineering side, our team has been busy testing Schulich Delta. This past week Schulich Delta’s chassis and suspension underwent drop testing to ensure safety. Safety is an important aspect  of our team. Before a driver gets behind the wheel we use simulations and test our car to ensure it is road ready. Electrically, Schulich Delta’s new central communication system (CCS) was tested with positive results.

Our business team is just as busy planning and organizing our race logistics! We have our accommodations, motor home and other vehicles all organized for WSC. We are now in the process of organizing flights and finalizing our shipping plans.

We are also busy planning our Alberta Tour, which will take place in May. For those of you who are new to our blog, every year in the spring our team tours around Alberta for one week. During this time we get to practice our convoy driving, which has proven to be a great experience in the past for our upcoming races! We also make community visits where we showcase our car and give presentations about the importance of sustainability.

Race Logistics and Communications have been hard at work planning our community outreach around Alberta. Stay tuned on our twitter (@UofCSolarTeam), Facebook and our blog for more updates on where we will be heading in May!

On Friday, February 1^st 2013, The University of Calgary Solar Car team had the privilege of unveiling our fourth generation car: Schulich Delta. The unveiling of Schulich Delta was one of the biggest events we have hosted thus far. It made us proud to see people appreciating all of our hard work, whether it be with regards to the unveiling itself, or more importantly our new car. It was great being able to thank our sponsors and supporters in person.

The design of Schulich Delta is unlike any of our past generations. It is considered a more realistic car as it provides room for two people and plenty of space in the trunk. We are hoping that this new design will connect more with the community and in turn promote sustainability to both individuals and society.

During the unveiling we were fortunate enough to have some remarkable speakers. Our Race Logistics Manager, Brigitte, did a wonderful job emceeing the event. Our co-chairs, Mico and Susie, really represented what our team and vision are all about through their speeches. I cannot stress enough how much work they have put into this team, and we have been able to reach these milestones because of their leadership. Apart from the car, our unveiling really revealed the passion and the effort we put into trying to educate, innovate and inspire.

We would like to give a special thank you to President Cannon and Dr. Lynne on their amazing speeches and support. Also, once again thank you to our sponsors and supporters.

Expect many more great things to come from Schulich Delta!

Check out the links to the media coverage of the unveiling:

Global TV news story (video):

http://www.globaltvcalgary.com/video/u+of+c+debuts+new+solar+car/video.html?v=2331485518#stories

Global TV online story:
http://www.globaltvcalgary.com/university+of+calgary+students+unveil+practical+solar+car/6442800640/story.html

Calgary Herald, Ottawa Citizen, and report on the new Schulich Delta solar car (page B2 in Saturday’s Calgary Herald):

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/calgary/solar+more+comfortable+ride/7906875/story.html

CTV:

http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/mobile/u-of-c-team-unveils-new-and-improved-solar-car-prototype-1.1139732

CBC-TV Calgary (after commercial, drag button to 28:35 mark):

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/Calgary/ID/2331486725/?page=2

Brenda Nguyen

Race Logistics Co-ordinator

Hello everyone,

There is less than 24 hours until the unveiling of our fourth generation solar car. It has come a long way from being merely an idea less than two years ago. The team has worked hard to produce a novel car, best described by one word: change. To honour the car and the team’s new direction, our fourth generation solar car has been appropriately named Schulich Delta. Named after the fourth Greek letter and mathematical symbol for change, Schulich Delta illustrates the very foundations that solar car racing is built on. This project goes far beyond the classroom and workshop; it is a message to the world that sustainable energy and solar technology is closer to our homes than we think.

After seeing a large number and a wide variety of solar cars in my time with the team, I can truly say that Schulich Delta is pushing boundaries and redefining the standards of a solar powered car. At this Friday’s launch, we will showcase the ground-breaking design to many of our current and potential supporters. Join our team and myself in celebrating the new generation of solar car racing.

Mico Madamesila

Engineering Team Manager