Columbia University New York, N.Y. 10027 Office of Public Information (212) 854-5573
People say, "It's a very New York boat."
The 17-foot solar-powered boat painted taxicab yellow with a real fare card on the side is on display at Columbia University through October 31.
Twelve engineering students built the slender craft last spring and took it to Milwaukee this summer, where it won a race in the annual Solar Splash collegiate competition and got plenty of attention.
"People were impressed with the quality of the boat, the electronics and the craftsmanship, considering what was available to us," said Bob Stark, mechanical engineering's lab supervisor. "They also commented on the color scheme. It is very much a New York boat."
The Associated Press moved a color news photo of it nationwide on its wires, and two Columbia student builders appeared on Milwaukee television.
Now you can see the boat, dubbed "Ziptie Love" by the students for the plastic strips that hold its wiring in place, in the Department of Mechanical Engineering offices in 220 Mudd, 9 to 5 weekdays. (Telephone (212) 854-4465 for further information.) The exhibit in the department's newly renovated reception area includes Solar Splash memorabilia and photos and text describing the project.
The enthusiasm generated by Columbia's showing has spread throughout the School of Engineering and Applied Science, said the school's new dean, Zvi Galil, the Morris A. and Alma Schapiro Professor.
"That a dozen students were able to design and build a working solar boat speaks volumes about their skills, what they knew and what they learned," Dean Galil said. "This is the kind of team spirit that engineers need and that Columbia fosters."
The craft competed in June against entries from 18 other colleges and universities in the United States and Japan. It was fifth in the 300-meter sprint competition, seventh in the two-hour endurance race, and beat out the only other competitor in the tandem endurance division, with crews of two instead of one.
"Ziptie Love" attained speeds of about 5 mph in the endurance race, in which the boats are powered both by solar electric panels and car batteries, and about 20 mph in the sprint race, which uses car batteries only. Though the Columbia entry was about to pass the third boat in the last minutes of the sprint race, it veered off course because of a steering problem and dropped to fifth place.
Students raised $3,300 in cash and about $11,500 in contributions of goods and services for the project. The advanced, pancake-shaped electronic motor, the object of much curiosity at the solar regatta, was donated by Lynch Industries of Britain. Other sponsors included Columbia's Office of the Provost and the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Students are already planning a repeat appearance next June, with possibly two entries, a modified "Ziptie" and a much smaller fiberglass microhull. The race is sponsored by the Solar Energy Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Several seniors used the project to satisfy their engineering design project requirement, a four-credit course. The skills they gained will serve them well in their careers, several of the students said.
"The project encouraged the unique mindset engineers need on a project, the ability to find solutions that may not be obvious," said Brian Leibowitz, now a sophomore, who handled much of the boat's electronics.
"The kind of team spirit we generated in building the boat was definitely a quality my employer wanted to see," said Greg Zimmerman, SEAS '95, who now works for Affiliated Engineers Inc. in Madison, Wisc. "I'd love to be there to see how the Columbia team does next year."
"We built a really solid boat," said Bridget Cooley, SEAS '95, now a management consultant for Mentor Co. in New York. "And we had a lot of fun."
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