Rice University fields solar car in this week’s Shell Eco-marathon in downtown Houston

A Rice student club will field the university’s first solar car in this week’s Shell Eco-marathon Americas, which takes place Thursday through Sunday at Discovery Green in downtown Houston. Nearly 140 teams will take to the track on city streets around the park to determine which cars are most efficient. They will race in several categories based on whether they run on gas, alternative fuels, batteries or solar power. The 16-member Rice team formed last year and raised more than $80,000 to design and build a vehicle with help from Rice professors, including faculty adviser Andrew Dick, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and materials science. The students studied other solar cars before deciding on their unique design, in which the solar panels serve as the car’s roof with the driver underneath. The car is required to complete a six-mile course -- 10 laps around the 0.6-mile Discovery Green track -- in 15 minutes or less. Cars that complete the course will then be rated for energy efficiency.