CONCEPT

"The Nerd Girls project takes an in depth and intimate look at women in engineering. It highlights their diverse talents and demonstrates their ability to work as a team striving to accomplish a challenging, but doable engineering project." -Dr. Karen Panetta

The engineering team task for the "Nerd Girls" will be to build a solar car. Tufts University has female engineers who have danced in the Nutcracker ballet, sang at the Apollo Theater, are award-winning pianists, and nationally ranked athletes.

Nerd Girls team - Tufts University

The mission of this program is to show a wide audience of young women and young men how successful these students are as they work together to design and construct an engineering system. The project will showcase the young women's talents, diverse backgrounds and engineering skills. The team will build an energy efficient automobile and will drive it down the East coast, visiting local communities along the way and sharing their experiences with K-12 educators and students. As well, they will interact with professional women engineers who will consult on the project.

The engineering team task for the "Nerd Girls" will be to build a solar car. Tufts University has female engineers who have danced in the Nutcracker ballet, sang at the Apollo Theater, are award-winning pianists, and nationally ranked athletes. The mission of this program is to show a wide audience of young women and young men how successful these students are as they work together to design and construct an engineering system.

 The project will showcase the young women's talents, diverse backgrounds and engineering skills. The team will build an energy efficient automobile and will drive it down the East coast, visiting local communities along the way and sharing their experiences with K-12 educators and students. As well, they will interact with professional women engineers who will consult on the project. 

HISTORY OF THE CAR

Reassembled from Umass Lowell’s donated solar car parts, the Nerdgirls’ car, “Anne E. B.,” was reborn summer 2002. In her previous life she raced for Umass Lowell. Her accomplishments include:

• Sunrayce 93 - Dallas to Minneapolis, 8th Place

• Sunrayce 93 - Teamwork Award, 1st Place

• Sunrayce 93 - SAE Engineering Excellence Award

• American Tour de Sol 95 - 1st Place Solar Cross Continental Category

• American Tour de Sol 95 - Most Efficient Solar Cross Continental Category

Naming Anne E. B.

Anne, daughter of Betty and Roger Borghesani, graduated from Lexington High School and Tufts University. In March 1990, Anne was brutally murdered by a stranger as she walked from her apartment to the Metro in Arlington, Virginia. She was planning to meet friends to celebrate her twenty-third birthday.
People and community were important to Anne. She was a family person, an upholder of traditions, a loyal friend, a great communicator, and a person who brought people together from different religions and cultures.

The Nerd Girls feel that Anne encompasses the spirit of the project bringing the team together to work towards a common goal. Betty and Roger believe that Anne would have heartily endorsed the project's goals of promoting women in engineering, along with teamwork, and renewable energy. Although math and engineering subjects were definitely not Anne's areas of strength, she was certainly a supporter of women's abilities to succeed in all areas of study.

The Nerd Girls thank the Borghesani family for their permission for using Anne's name.

Anne E B and Nerd Girls

ANNE E. B.  SPECIFICATIONS

Solar Panel

• 820 BP Solar Mono-Crystalline Solar Cells

• 17% Mfgr. Cell Efficiency (Third Party Tested at 15%)

• 12% Panel Efficiency

• 1000 Watt Peak Power with voltage range of 100 (with MPPT) or 205 volts (MPPT bypassed)

• 4 Student Designed & Built Maximum Power Point Trackers (microprocessor controlled)

• Average Power (direct Sunlight) 900W

• Maximum Observed Power (MPPT bypass) 1360W
  66 kph (41 mph) on 1000 W of Panel Power

Batteries

• 12 U1 DieHard Batteries in Series for 144V Bus - 4900 Kwh

• 33 Ahr with a total weight of 113.4 kg (250 lb) 165 mile average daily range (Designed)

Motor

• Solectria 8 kW (11 HP) Brushless DC 3 phase

• 94% Efficient at 6000 RPM with Solectria BRLS240H MOSFET Controller

• Maximum Speed Estimated at 105 km/h (65 MPH) Blower Cooling

Wheels\Tires

• 50 cm (20") RL-Edge Racing Tires, 100 PSI

• Student Designed & Built Machined Billet Aluminum Wheels

• Weight = 352 kg (775 lb) without driver

Dimensions

• Length: 6 m (19.69 ft) Width: 2 m (6.6 ft) Height: 1.1 m (3.61 ft)

• Clearance: 0.30 m (.98 ft) Wheelbase: 2.5 m (8.2 ft)

• Track Width: Front - 1.5 m (4.9 ft) Rear - 1.6 m (5.25 ft)

Brakes, Suspension & Steering

• 3 Wheel disc with regenerative braking

• Double Wish Bone Front Suspension and Independent Trailing Arm Rear

• Chain to Rack & Pinion Steering

• Risse Racing Tech gas shocks

• Suzuki ATV Hydraulic disk front & back brakes + Regen on Left Rear

• Single Reduction Chain, 7/1 ratio

Chassis

• Thin-wall 4130 Cr-Mo steel tubing with rear Kevlar & Foam monocoque body

Aerodynamic Specs

• Drag Coefficient, Cd = 0.17 (EDS computer simulation)

• Frontal Area, A = 1.0 m²

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Anne E B solar racing car

LINKS

CONTACTS

General questions: nerdgirls@eecs.tufts.edu
Professor Karen Panetta
Webmaster

NERD GIRLS-Women in Engineering Project
161 College Ave
Tufts University
Medford, MA 02155

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