SOLAR SPLASH at the University of New Mexico is a Capstone Design project for a group of engineering students. We need your help with our project!

Our Mission/About University of New Mexico SOLAR SPLASH

Our mission is to win of course! We plan to follow the lead of last year’s rookie team and bring trophies home. In this international competition, we’re not only representing The University of New Mexico, but New Mexico as well. We’re breaking water by being only the second UNM team to compete and hope to lay the groundwork for a UNM legacy.

Guided by mechanical engineering professor Dr. Peter Vorobieff, Solar Splash is a UNM senior design project where a team of mechanical engineers design and build an electric motor boat powered by batteries that are charged completely by solar energy. This June, our boat will be put to the test in three competitive events - slalom (for maneuverability), sprint (for speed), and endurance - at the Solar Splash intercollegiate world championship in Dayton, Ohio.

Last year’s UNM Solar Splash team competed as an underdog and proved to be the strongest rookie squad in the competition. With time constraints and a much smaller budget than the other veteran teams, UNM took fourth place overall, second place in Solar Slalom, earned the Sportsmanship Award and was named Rookie Team with Highest Overall Score.

Solar Splash affords us many opportunities not available in other senior design programs, such as: teamwork, multidisciplinary processes, cross-functional collaboration between mechanical and electrical & computing engineering departments, the opportunity to work with sustainable energy, a structured program, and the ability to be hands on by working in a small group.

This synergy of our team is what will bring home prizes this summer - we find ourselves working harder for our team than we would for just ourselves. We are not rigid with member titles and everyone collaborates on different parts of the project, since all aspects of engineering require collaboration. A rocket is not built by one just one person, after all.