University of Michigan Solar Car Team

The University of Michigan Solar Car Team is an engineering project team at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor that designs, builds, and races some of the world's most advanced solar-electric vehicles.

Core team members of the 1990 team included Susan Fancy, Paula Finnegan, David Noles, Chetan Maini (Maini went on to become the founder of Reva which is one of the major electric car companies in India), David Bell, Jef Pavlat, Andy Swiecki, Chris Gregory, and many more.

The second generation team built its car, Maize & Blue, and competed in Sunrayce 93 (the predecessor to the North American Solar Challenge) finishing in first place in the national race, and 11th in the World Solar Challenge.

The vast majority of these students volunteer their time freely, although in the past a small percentage opt to receive credit via the university's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (or UROP).

As of 2024, UM's solar car project has won the North American championship ten times.

The team poses for a group photo at the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge '17 starting line
Sunrunner in Australia
Maize & Blue in Darwin, Australia
Momentum on display at the 2006 North American International Auto Show .
Infinium during roll-down testing on the Stuart Highway.