UNI solar boat team third at world championships

CEDAR FALLS -- The University of Northern Iowa Solar Panthers won third place overall in the World Championship Intercollegiate Solar Boating competition in Fayetteville, Ark., June 9-13.

This is the UNI team's second straight third-place finish, and fourth year in a row in the top five. For the first time since UNI joined the competition in 2000, the Solar Panthers qualified to compete in the Sprint World Championship race on June 13, where they finished third behind University of New Orleans College of Naval Engineering and University of South Hampton, UK.

The Solar Panthers brought home a trophy for Outstanding Solar System Design, given to the team displaying outstanding knowledge and hands-on skills. UNI ranked fourth in the Technical Report category.

UNI Solar Panthers team members are: Hannah Loan, electrical engineering technology major and student team leader and skipper from Lone Tree; Tony Wagner, a senior technology education and training teaching major from Bellevue; Damon Knowling, a senior EET major from Coralville; David Buseman, a senior EET major from Waterloo; Justin Chu, a sophomore from Dalian, China; Tom Mason, a senior manufacturing technology major from Waterloo; Abubakar Audu, a sophomore EET major from Cedar Rapids and Reg Pecen, faculty advisor.

UNI will host the next World Championship June 8-12, 2011, at George Wyth State Park and on the UNI campus.