Geneva College′s team received the Sportsmanship Award, Second Place in Endurance, and Seventh Place Overall at the 2012 Solar Splash competition. In Cedar Falls, Iowa from Tuesday, June 12, until June 17, the Geneva team went head to head with 14 other groups, three of which were international.
On the first day of the competition, a student on an opposing team sliced his foot. The Geneva team pitched in to help the other team′s remaining two members complete their task, an incident that probably explains the Sportsmanship Award that was among Geneva′s trophies for the event.
"The most exciting thing for us was getting second place in Endurance," says Genna Frederick, explaining that this was their main concern while building the solar-powered boat for the 2012 competition. The Endurance contest monitors each boat′s ability to run continuously for two hours off both battery and solar energy. As a result, the Geneva team focused on increasing the efficiency of their solar panels.
The Geneva team improved a total of 174 points since last year, and 127 of those points came from the Endurance portion of the competition. This advantage helped the team rise in the ranks for their overall placement.
Although just six official team members trekked to Iowa-recent grads Genna Frederick, Markos Panayiotides and Doug Terhune, with Marissa Panayiotides and seniors David Harbor and Brandon Padgett-four others were on the team: grads Steven Orvis, Justin Rodgers, and Ian Campbell; and senior Brian Corcoran. Together, they built panels, selected batteries and new motors, and constructed additional elements such as motor mount and new propellers to put together a solar-powered boat.
Geneva College is a comprehensive Christian college of the arts, sciences and professional studies. Founded in the tradition of the Reformed Christian faith, Geneva prepares students to serve Christ in all areas of society: work, family and the church. Geneva College′s philosophy of education is based on the Foundational Concepts of Christian Higher Education. Geneva is a founding member of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU).
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