Photo submitted by Bill Brune of Houston, Texas, a 1973 computer science graduate of Missouri S&T.

Missouri University of Science and Technology’s Solar Car Team earned fourth place at the Formula Sun Grand Prix 2015, an international student design competition for solar-powered vehicles.

The competition was held July 26-31 at the Circuit of The Americas, a 3.4-mile Formula One racetrack in Austin, Texas. The competition challenged teams to complete as many laps as possible over three days of racing with their student-designed and -built cars. Missouri S&T’s car completed a total of 181 laps and completed the third-fastest lap at the competition, with a time of 4:49.05 minutes.

Teams started the competition with three days of technical and safety inspections, then moved on to the racetrack. Only teams that met all safety requirements were allowed to race on the track.

Missouri S&T’s car, named Solar Miner VIII, raced in Austin during last year’s competition as well, but this year’s car features a redesigned power system that is 40 percent more powerful than the car’s 2014 technology. An upgraded telemetry system transmitted the car’s real-time energy consumption and performance data to the team to get the maximum performance from the sun’s power.

Dr. Mehdi Ferdowsi, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Missouri S&T, John Tyler, a research engineer in the Rock Mechanics and Explosives Research Center at Missouri S&T, and Letha Young, a lieutenant in the Missouri S&T police department, are the team’s advisors. John Schoeberle, a senior in mechanical engineering from Edwardsville, Illinois, is the team leader. For more information about the competition, visit americansolarchallenge.org.

The following Missouri S&T team members traveled to the competition:

Jorge Bretzke, a sophomore in aerospace engineering from Seattle, Washington

Charles Cooley, a freshman in mechanical engineering from Barnhart, Missouri

Donovan Gibson, a junior in mechanical engineering from Worth, Missouri

Nick Glover, a sophomore in electrical engineering from Algonquin, Illinois

Austin Holmsley, a senior in aerospace engineering from Wright City, Missouri

Nathan Jacobson, a senior in chemical engineering from Union, Kentucky

Conner Kostelac, a sophomore in engineering management from Platte City, Missouri

Caleb Olson, a sophomore in computer engineering from Vienna, Missouri

Daniel Peters, a junior in mechanical engineering from Pleasant Hill, Missouri

Katherine Ramsay, a senior in economics from Rolla, Missouri

Minhaz Rashid, a freshman in aerospace engineering from Florissant, Missouri

Miles Redman, a senior in computer engineering from St. Joseph, Missouri

Robert Ruark, a senior in electrical engineering from Glen Carbon, Illinois

John Schoeberle, a senior in mechanical engineering from Edwardsville, Illinois

Zach Smedley, a junior in mechanical engineering from Plattsburg, Missouri

Brandon Terlouw, a senior in mechanical engineering from Chesterfield, Missouri

Eric Walter, a freshman in electrical engineering from Old Monroe, Missouri.