FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 05/28/97
Contact: Margie Yu,
Public Affairs Assistant
(323) 343-3047
CAL STATE L.A. OFFERS COURSE ON SOLAR CAR ENGINEERING
Los Angeles, California -- May 28, 1997 -- The School of Engineering and Technology and the Office for Continuing Education at California State University, Los Angeles will be offering a six-unit course on Solar Car Engineering (Engineering 454) from June 23 through July 19, 1997.
The objective of this intensive course is to train students in the design, construction and racing of solar-powered vehicles. The students who are enrolled will be attending two weeks of classroom lectures and hands-on practice in the laboratory. The course also contains a special field trip to observe part of the Sunrayce 97, where participants will evaluate the performance of leading vehicles in the race, including Cal State L.A.'s third student-built, solar-powered vehicle--Solar Eagle III. The class is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills to design and build efficient solar cars.
This course is open for college-level engineering students and their instructors who are interested in building solar-powered and/or electric vehicles. Taiwan's National Chiao Tung University, which has been developing solar cars for five years, is sending 13 students to participate in this course.
The chief instructor will be Richard D. Roberto, professor of Mechanical Engineering, and the course coordinator will be Chivey C. Wu, professor of Mechanical Engineering. Roberto has been the faculty advisor for Cal State L.A.'s Solar Eagle Projects since 1989. Under Roberto's leadership and engineering talents, the Solar Eagle Team has been able to design and build three highly efficient solar cars that have consistently placed among top positions in regional, national and international solar car races. Chivey Wu, who has been teaching at Cal State L.A. for 14 years, has been actively involved in research projects with NASA and with universities in Japan and Taiwan. Specializing in aerodynamics, Wu has participated in the configuration design and wind tunnel testing of Cal State L.A.'s solar cars.
Tuition to enroll in this course is $594 for California residents and $984 for foreign and non-resident students. For more information, call Professor Chivey Wu's office at (323) 343-4489 or the Office of Continuing Education at (323) 343-4900.