Volunteers needed for solar car race event
June 14, 2001
KALAMAZOO -- Volunteers are needed to help out when more than 40 visiting solar car race teams are on the Western Michigan University campus next month for the WMU Formula Sun Grand Prix.
The event, which runs July 9-13, is the final qualifying event for the American Solar Challenge, a 2,300-mile cross country race along Route 66 that will begin July 15 in Chicago and end 10 days later in the Los Angeles area.
Collegiate and club teams from around the world will spend the week on campus having their entries in the race certified as safe and roadworthy. They will spend the first two to three days of the week on campus and then complete the week's final events at GingerMan Raceway in South Haven.
Volunteers are needed to assist with such tasks as team check-in and site monitoring. There also is an opportunity for volunteers to provide lunches or dinners for members of two solar teams--a total of about 35 people--from June 26 through July 8. Those interested may sign up to provide either meal on those days in the Kohrman Hall Vehicle Design Center Lab. The meals will feed members of WMU's Sunseeker team as well as team members from England's South Bank University who will be working on their entry in the lab alongside the WMU students.
Anyone volunteering for help with Sunseeker or the WMU Formula Sun Grand Prix will be considered a team member and will receive a free Sunseeker T-shirt.
For more information or to participate as a volunteer, contact Jan Selesky, mechanical and aeronautical engineering, at 616 387-3371 or <jan.selesky@wmich.edu>.
Media contact: Cheryl Roland, 616 387-8400, cheryl.roland@wmich.edu