Students Compete With Hydrogen And Solar-Powered Cars at FSEC

By Sara Tournade May 7, 2008

Photo: Sherri Shields

Eight student teams designed, built and demonstrated a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle Saturday as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Middle School Science Bowl.

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With the constant rise of gas prices, energy is on everyone's mind these days, including Florida students. On Saturday, May 3, hundreds of students from more than 40 schools across the state competed in the sixth-annual EnergyWhiz Olympics at the University of Central Florida's Florida Solar Energy Center in Cocoa. Here they put their knowledge and skills to work toward finding solutions to national energy challenges.

This alternative energy competition, sponsored by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, highlights the science and engineering skills of middle and high school students as they participate in activities related to real-world energy issues by designing and racing solar and hydrogen-powered model cars.

“We were so impressed with the level of competition this year,” said Susan Schleith, project manager for the EnergyWhiz Olympics. “Students are beginning to take a real interest in alternative energy, which is promising for our future energy independence.”

Four main competitions during Saturday’s event at FSEC -- Energy Innovations, the Junior Solar Sprint, Hydrogen Sprint and the second portion of the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Middle School Science Bowl in the Southeast -- challenged students to think about energy solutions in fresh ways.

The Energy Innovations program, a relatively new, real-world design competition, was created to provide a full-scale solar electric design and marketing challenge for middle and high school students. Each participating team designed and constructed a product or artistic work fully powered by photovoltaics (PV), also called solar electricity. PV panels for this competition were provided by BP. The teams also created marketing pieces, such as brochures, fliers, and posters, to accompany their products.

One of the most popular events each year is the Junior Solar Sprint, where students design, construct and race solar-powered vehicles. This hands-on competition for middle school students encourages them to use scientific know-how, creative thinking, experimentation and teamwork. One of the fastest cars sped to victory down the 20 meter track in an impressive 5.6 seconds.

The Hydrogen Sprint, a similar competition for high school students, asks competitors to design, build and race model-sized cars, powered by hydrogen fuel cells instead of solar energy. The competition exposes students to hydrogen's potential as an alternative fuel source and also gives graduates of the Junior Solar Sprint program the opportunity to continue designing and building alternative-fueled vehicles. Teams that participated in this event were required to give a 10-minute presentation on any aspect of hydrogen they learned about while creating their vehicle.

Eight finalist teams from the academic portion of the regional National Science Bowl also finished the DOE’s competition Saturday with a Hands-On-Hydrogen challenge, sponsored by Bright House Networks. Each middle school team designed, built and demonstrated a hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The team from Miami’s Archimedean Middle Conservatory -- made up entirely of sixth-grade students -- will travel to the national competition next month in Colorado as the youngest group ever to represent Florida at this level, with two of its members only 10.

In upcoming years, project managers for the EnergyWhiz Olympics hope to expand the competition by developing a program for elementary students to design, build and race solar-powered boats. This year, model solar-powered boats were on display for students and observers to explore their different designs and how they work.

The EnergyWhiz Olympics is coordinated by staff at the Florida Solar Energy Center, but it could not be a successful event without the time and effort of the volunteers involved. Event volunteers included engineers from NASA, the United Space Alliance (USA), Canaveral Council of Technical Societies, Northrop Grumman, and the Society of Automotive Engineers. Other volunteers included representatives from the University of Central Florida, Brevard Community College, Bright House Networks, the National Energy Foundation, and Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

About FSEC: The Florida Solar Energy Center, a research institute of the University of Central Florida, is the largest and most active state-supported renewable energy and efficiency institute in the United States. Created by the Florida Legislature in 1975, FSEC's mission is to research energy technologies that enhance Florida's and the nation's economy and environment, and to educate the public, students and practitioners on the results of the research. Working in alternative fuels, hydrogen and fuel cells, photovoltaics, solar thermal technologies, high performance buildings and education areas, FSEC's 140-member staff helps provide Florida with a future of energy independence and environmental sustainability. FSEC is also responsible for testing and certification of solar systems sold in the state of Florida. For more information about FSEC, visit http://www.floridaenergycenter.org.

UCF Stands For Opportunity: The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan research university that ranks as the 6th largest in the nation with more than 48,000 students. UCF's first classes were offered in 1968. The university offers impressive academic and research environments that power the region's economic development. UCF's culture of opportunity is driven by our diversity, Orlando environment, history of entrepreneurship and our youth, relevance and energy. For more information visit http://news.ucf.edu.

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