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The 15th annual American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Solar Splash is the World Championship of Intercollegiate Solar Boating. The event itself takes place over 5 days, the first day being spent entirely on a thorough technical inspection of each craft. The remaining four days are occupied with on-water competitions, including sprint, maneuverability, endurance and speed competitions. Each craft is powered completely by batteries and a solar array. This power combination on a watercraft creates its own interesting set of challenges: not only must the craft be very efficient hydro-dynamically, but it must use its power extremely effectively.
This year marks the third time MTSU has been represented by a Solar Boat Team in the Solar Splash Competition. This year, MTSU had a brand new team, with new ideas and a fresh outlook on the competition. This new team was especially ambitions, creating a brand new vehicle, completely from scratch.
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2008 Concept
The new MTSU concept is innovative and complicated. The craft consists of two hulls connected together by an 80/20 aluminum frame. Each hull is double sided, with one side designed specifically for endurance and the other for sprinting. This concept gives the MTSU team a boat that is ideal for both the four-hour endurance competition as well as the sprint heats.
2008 Team
Jennifer Duckworth(SolarBoat Team Leader); Bryan Bodkin, Jason Burks, Stanley Whitehouse, Dan Peery, and Jacob Gonzalez
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