App State Solar Vehicle Team Celebrates its First Place Finish with a Victory Lap on Campus
Team Sunergy members Reid Kerr and Jessica Navarro-Luviano depart in ROSE for a victory lap around the App State campus and downtown Boone on Aug. 19. Photo by Chase Reynolds/Appalachian State University
Appalachian State’s student solar vehicle team, Team Sunergy, celebrated its first-place finish in the 2021 American Solar Challenge with a special victory lap and ceremony on campus Friday morning.
App State was one of nine university teams — including MIT, University of California, Berkeley and Georgia Tech — that qualified to compete in the American Solar Challenge and among only two universities that do not offer engineering programs.
Teams compete in either the Single-Occupant Vehicle (SOV) class or the Multi-Occupant Vehicle (MOV) class (also called the Cruiser Class). App State’s ROSE competed in the MOV class, in which vehicles race with two occupants instead of one. ROSE is a four-wheeled, two-passenger car capable of charging its batteries from its solar array as well as by traditional electric vehicle wall charging ports. The car has a top speed of 60 mph and a maximum range of 300 miles on a single battery charge.
The nearly 1,000-mile route from Independence, Missouri, to Las Vegas, New Mexico, included the dauntingly steep Ratón Pass at the Colorado-New Mexico border. The stretch of highway gains 1,400 feet in elevation in about 2 miles. App State was one of only three teams in both classes to successfully crest the summit; the remaining cars were given an option to go around. In this year’s American Solar Challenge, Team Sunergy achieved the second-fastest average speed in both classes, behind only MIT.
Chancellor Sheri Everts and Team Sunergy students and advisors pose with the winning solar car, ROSE, at a victory event held Aug. 19 on Appalachian State University’s campus. Photo by Chase Reynolds
Appalachian State Chief Sustainability Officer Lee Ball speaks at an Aug. 19 victory lap event for Team Sunergy as Chancellor Sheri Everts applauds the team. Photo by Chase Reynolds/Appalachian State University
Co-Mechanical Director Jessica Navarro-Luviano speaks to a crowd at App State’s B.B. Dougherty Administration Building celebrating Team Sunergy’s first-place finish in the American Solar Challenge. Photo by Chase Reynolds/Appalachian State University
Co-Mechanical Director Jessica Navarro-Luviano speaks to a crowd at App State’s B.B. Dougherty Administration Building as team member Sam Cheatham and Chief Sustainability Officer Lee Ball look on. Photo by Chase Reynolds/Appalachian State University
Co-Business Director Sam Cheatham speaks to a crowd at App State’s B.B. Dougherty Administration Building celebrating Team Sunergy’s first-place finish in the American Solar Challenge. Photo by Chase Reynolds/Appalachian State University
Team Sunergy Co-Business Director Sam Cheatham, left, and Co-Mechanical Director Jessica Navarro-Luviano, right, present their American Solar Challenge and Formula Sun Grand Prix trophies to Chancellor Sheri Everts. Photo by Chase Reynolds/Appalachian State University
Chancellor Sheri Everts signs ROSE (Racing on Solar Energy), the Multi-Occupant passenger vehicle designed and built by the App State Solar Vehicle Team. Photo by Chase Reynolds/Appalachian State University
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