Solar car to shine in competition

Engineering students design alternative energy "hot rod"

Engineering students at Cal State Long Beach are designing a solar-powered car that will compete in at least three national and international races next year.

The three-wheel vehicle, called Solar Wave, will feature bicycle tires and an aluminum chassis, and will measure 20 feet long and weigh about 550 lbs. Solar Wave will cruise at 40 mph, with a top speed of 70 mph.

All of the design work and virtually all of the manufactur ing will be performed on campus by engineering students and supervised by CSULB engineering faculty.

Faculty project adviser Dr. Reza Toossi called the idea of an all solar-powered car unlikely in the near future, but said that sweeping changes in alternative energy were inevitable.

"We will see more and more of some kind of hybrid vehicle ... using both solar power and another source of energy, such as electricity," Toossi said.

Solar Wave is a collaborative effort of students within v arious departments on campus. Journalism and marketing students, for example, are helping to publicize the project and attract corporate sponsors.

Solar Wave's funding comes largely from corporations, who will receive television exposure at the ra cing events. The project is budgeted at approximately $300,000, and project co-manager Levi Javier said that more than half of that sum has already been raised.

Solar Wave was inspired in part by the engineering department's first-place award at 1 992's Electric Grand Prix in Los Angeles. That competition featured an electric vehicle designed and produced by CSULB engineering students.

Although Solar Wave is still mostly in the design stage, Javier said the vehicle must be finished by Februa ry 1995 to qualify for the racing events.

In late May CSULB will become the first West Coast college to compete in the American Tour de Sol, a multi-national solar competition held on the East Coast.

From June 20-29, Solar Wave will compete in Sunrayce '95, a 1,100-mile race that stretches across the Great Plains from Indianapolis to Colorado. All Sunrayce '95 participants are also invited to compete in the nation's oldest automobile race: the annual Pike's Peak hill climb in Colorado Spri ngs.

The next test for Solar Car will be the World Solar Challenge in November, which is held in Australia and attracts worldwide media coverage.

"Basically, there are no rules," Javier said of the races. "You get from here to there as fast as you can."

Javier also said that Solar Wave is quite an attention-getter. "This car turns more heads than a naked lady," he said.

The project is still in need of students for body work, race linguistics, travel planning and producing a video documentary.

Students interested in participating should call (310) 985- 5145.