The Winning Solar Car

Dr. Douglas R. Carroll received his B.S. degree from Southwest Missouri State University in 1980 and his M.S. degree from Texas A&M University in 1982. He worked for the U.S. Air Force for six years at Tinker AFB and then returned to college and earned his Ph.D. degree from the University of Missouri-Rolla in 1991. After graduation, Dr. Carroll accepted a faculty position in the Basic Engineering Department at the University of Missouri-Rolla and almost immediately began working with the solar car team in designing its first solar car. Designing the first few cars was difficult, and the cars were not very competitive in the races. The designs improved with time and experience, and the Missouri-Rolla team finished first in the 1999 Sunrayce, second in the 2000 Formula Sun Grand Prix, second in the 2001 American Solar Challenge, fourth in the 2001 World Solar Challenge, and first in the 2002 Formula Sun Grand Prix, and first in the 2003 American Solar Challenge. Dr. Carroll is currently a professor in the Basic Engineering Department and continues to work with the solar car team in designing a new car for the 2003 race season.