The E-Boat Team
The University of New Orleans Boysie Bollinger School of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering (NAME) Solar/Electric boat (e-boat) team began in 1996 where it first competed in the Solar Splash, the World Championship of Intercollegiate Solar/Electric Boat Racing. Under the leadership of numerous students, the e-boat project has grown into the prominent extracurricular design project for NAME students and other engineering majors. In May 2010, the team won 1st place overall at the World Championships, and 1st in both the Sprint and Endurance Championships. The last 9 years that UNO has competed, it has been Sprint World Champions 8 times! UNO has set multiple speed records including the current record: 22.32 seconds over 300 meters in the 2009 Final, over 35 mph!
The Sprint and Endurance World Champion boat entry from 2010 was designed in 2001 and first raced in 2002. The boat saw competition in ’02, ’03, and ’05 before Hurricane Katrina interrupted the team’s established attendance at the Solar Splash competition. In 2008 a team of undergraduate students re-started the project, taking 5th place overall, leading to a 2nd place finish in 2009, and 1st in 2010. The team is looking to continue its success at the 2011 Solar Splash held June 8-12, 2011 at Cedar Falls, Iowa.
To achieve success in this dynamic, multi-discipline project, much help is needed from the students of the Dr. Robert A. Savoie College of Engineering, not just NAME students. The advanced photovoltaic system demands the knowledge of Electrical Engineering majors, while the high RPM drive-train requires Mechanical Engineers to design and build. The unique high-strength, carbon-fiber hull calls for Civil Engineers to develop, and the dynamically lifted hull and custom-designed propeller makes this a Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering pinnacle design project. The Dr. Robert A. Savoie College of Engineering regards this as a multi-disciplinary design project.
Want to join?
Students, to become involved in this exciting project, please contact the team-captain, Daniel Givan, at dgivan@uno.edu for information and meeting time. All work is for no compensation or course credit, but looks excellent to potential employers on a résumé and gets you involved with practical engineering design applications.
To make the Solar/Electric boat financially possible, the team requires assistance from a variety of companies and businesses in the New Orleans community and beyond. In 2010 the team’s sponsors included Northrop Grumman Ship Systems, Nucon Marine Corporation (MI), Vorus & Associates Inc., IEEE, National Instruments, and Altintas Shipyard.
Interested in Sponsoring?
Those interested in sponsoring the team’s effort in 2011, please contact the secretary of the Boysie Bollinger School of Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering, Janet Felix, at (504) 280-7182 or jfelix@uno.edu. You may decide to sponsor the team through financial donation, gifts or services, or you may choose to purchase a specific item for the team. Get creative. The Solar/Electric boat is representative of the comeback story of the city of New Orleans and the success realized by so many alumni of the Dr. Robert A. Savoie College of Engineering at UNO.
