Celebrating Solar Splash success

The University of Southampton’s Solar Electric Boat Race Team is celebrating a successful year competing in the Solar Splash World Championships.

Team Tarka, a team of engineers from Electronics and Computer Science (ECS), came fifth overall in the 2012 Collegiate World Championships, in Cedar Falls, USA.

The five-day event is held annually in the USA and pitches intercollegiate teams against each other in a challenge to design and build a vessel that runs on solar and electric power. Their creations are put to the test during five on-the-water competitive trials.

It was the third time Team Tarka has entered the event and they were delighted to take a silver medal in the sprint event. They also won the top award for their outstanding electrical system design and received special recognition as a team for their perseverance.

The team were the first-ever UK entrant in 2009 and since then they have been in the top 10 three times.

Team Tarka Director Dr Peter Wilson said: “It was a super team effort. The award for outstanding electrical system design demonstrates the excellence of the work done by our electronics students and postgraduates.

“This is an excellent way for engineering students to learn new skills and how to deliver excellence under difficult conditions.”

The project involves staff and students from across ECS and is pivotal to their research into the development of renewable energy systems. They were also supported by Roberts’ Fund money to help develop postgraduate students’ enterprise skills.