Financial Officer: Alex Marshall (amars@stanford.edu)
Amount Petitioned: $30,850
Full Budget

What is the mission and purpose of your student group?

The Stanford Solar Car Project's principal objective is to teach
students of all majors practical engineering and business skills
and to promote renewable energy.  This is achieved through
building and racing solar-powered vehicles. The team is committed
to the goal of building a new car every two years and racing it
in the North American and World Solar Challenges and the Formula
Sun Grand Prix.  These competitions are for collegiate and
professional solar car teams, and at least one of these events
occurs each year. The Project provides a group of undergraduate
and graduate students from diverse fields the opportunity to
design and build a complicated vehicle from the ground up, and to
learn about renewable energy sources and their possible
applications in many sectors.

The Solar Car Project also seeks to educate the community about
the possibilities of solar- or electric-powered vehicles and
renewable energy sources. The team has given educational
presentations at events ranging from the Society of Women
Engineers' Exploring New Worlds Day for elementary school
children to the Composite Fabricators' Association Conference in
Los Angeles.

Why are you requesting Special Fees?

The Solar Car Project is a unique student group that offers any
Stanford student the opportunity to become involved in the
significant logistical and engineering design, planning and
execution of building a fully funtional race car.  This type of
experience is not offered by any other group, department,
professor, or class on campus.  Building a high-performance solar
car that will win races and promote Stanford's name involves the
use of cutting edge materials and processes that are typically
quite expensive.

The Special Fees funding that we request, although a small
portion of the total amount of financing necessary for the
completion of a solar-powered vehicle, is very important to us. 
These funds allow the team to attend and put on events related to
alternative energy for the student body and larger Stanford
community to attend.  They also enable us to operate on a
week-to-week basis, maintain the quality and safety of our shop,
and purchase materials when suitable donations or sponsorships
cannot be found.

What are the three largest line item requests in your budget and why?

Our three largest line item requests are for: equipment,
gasoline, and car/van rental.  The equipment category is where we
require the greatest amount of funding due to the nature of our
student group.  Equipment spending goes towards maintaining our
workspace and purchasing materials for the solar car under
construction.  The gasoline and car/van rental categories are
necessary for entry into the American and World Solar Challenges.
 Racing a solar car requires a number of support vehicles, and
these vehicles must be driven over the total distance of each
race:  2,500 miles for the North American Solar Challenge, and
1,900 miles for the World Solar Challenge.  Fueling and renting
vehicles over these distances is a significant cost.

If you applied for Special Fees last year, is there an increase in the
amount you're seeking this year?  If so, why?

No, we are decreasing our request by 11.80%.