Finishing Well and Learning Life Lessons

Geneva Student Engineers Advance at the Solar Splash Competition

By Andrew J. Domencic ‘19

This was the 24^th year that Geneva College students participated in the Solar Splash competition, the world championship of intercollegiate solar/electric boating. Through those years, this boating contest has provided intense real-life training for Geneva’s student engineers to help prepare them for the reality of detailed planning, teamwork and implementation necessary in their future careers.  

During the competition, which took place from June 7-11 in Springfield, OH, students from 12 other colleges or universities developed and raced solar-powered boats in several events, competing for points in a variety of categories.

The main events included an endurance race, a sprint race and a slalom race. Points were also given for qualifying races, visual presentations, technical reports and workmanship.

The three races all focus on different boating skills or capabilities. The endurance race is a two-hour race around a loop, while the sprint race is only 300 meters. The slalom race is also short, and the emphasis is on maneuverability around a variety of buoys.

“When a team actually gets a boat to where it is ready to be taken to competition that is a good sign that the team is working well together”
― Dr. David W. Shaw

Since each team can bring only one boat, it is a challenge to design a craft that can work in a short race and a longer race. “There are hybrid designs that we use and that other schools use to make it more compatible with each race,” says Professor of Engineering Dr. David W. Shaw, Geneva’s faculty advisor.

Geneva finished in sixth place overall after taking seventh place in the endurance race and eighth place in the slalom race. In the sprint competition, despite having the third fastest boat, they forfeited their trophy because they did not compete in the championship race on Sunday.

The team honored that day as the Lord’s Day and refrained from all competition. “If you’re not in the final sprint race, you can’t get a trophy, and we understand that,” says Shaw. “We’ve never been in the top three before, but this year we thought we had a good chance. I make it very clear coming in that this is where we stand, and that we will honor the Lord’s Day, even if that means forfeiting a trophy.” At Geneva, faith is of utmost importance in academics, competition and all facets of life.

“We will honor the Lord’s Day, even if that means forfeiting a trophy.”
― Dr. David W. Shaw

The competition was widespread, including students from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez and students at the University of New Mexico. Initially, 16 schools signed up, but some had to drop out prior to competition. “In the last two weeks, people are doing all kinds of things to get ready for the competition, and sometimes teams blow up critical components of their boats,” Shaw explains.

The process of preparing a boat for competition is lengthy and begins in the fall. Students evaluate the previous team’s reports, assessing the strengths and weaknesses, and going through an engineering design process to formalize everything and find out where to spend time, money and energy to make improvements.

“There have been times where we had to make the call in April that we won’t be able to compete because we were not ready,” says Shaw. “When a team actually gets a boat to where it is ready to be taken to competition that is a good sign that the team is working well together, and that is an accomplishment itself.”

The team ran into challenges along the way that cost them some points. During the endurance race, there were major problems with their solar panels that put them in a difficult position. After some repairs, however, they were able to rebound and remain competitive.

“This was a team that worked really well together, overcame some obstacles and addressed the fundamentals,” says Shaw, “It was a really good experience, and they laid the foundation for next year to be another good experience.”

Student team members who attended the competition were Thomas (TJ) Acosta, Joey Biechy, Byron Childs, Jonathan Dawley and Aaron DeSantis.

From the Geneva Blog:
Pursuing a Christian Vision of a Flourishing Earth

When God gave mankind dominion over all the earth, He also gave us a great responsibility; we are to care for the earth and use it in a way that allows it to flourish.

At Geneva College, the call to take care of the earth is taken very seriously, and the commitment is seen in our partnership with the Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies.

One of Au Sable’s biggest strengths is teaching students to think about things from a Christian worldview. Assistant Professor of Biology Marjory Tobias ‘94 says, “When students look at environmental problems from a Christian perspective, they ask how we should be involved with this as Christians and how we should engage the culture on these issues.” More...