Assembly Required for Alaska Team’s Cars

Junior electrical engineering student Shane Poindexter, of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks’ “Nanook” team, explains  how the team transported their six vehicles more than 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) to Houston: In their airline luggage. He says even in an oil-producing state, the students recognize the importance of building more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The team team’s six cars are powered by six different fuels, and they are named for Santa’s reindeer:  Blitzen runs on solar power; Comet, on 100 percent ethanol; Donner, on battery electricity; Cupid, on a hydrogen fuel cell; Dancer on diesel; and Vixen on biodiesel.