[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/solar2004.jpg” caption=”McMasters current solar vehicle, Fireball II”]

Year round, the team at the McMaster Solar Car Project works on designing, building and modifying solar vehicles while raising awareness about renewable energy and energy conservation. Friday, Aug. 13 at 1:45 p.m., they will have some help spreading their message as the Canadian Solar Tour rolls onto the McMaster University campus in front of Hamilton Hall.

Beginning Aug. 12 in Windsor, ON, and concluding Aug. 21 in Quebec City, the Canadian Solar Tour will take McMaster's team on a 1,700 km journey in promotion of renewable energy technologies. Throughout the tour, the team will be joined by other students from some of Canada's top universities. Usually in competition, the students from McMaster, University of Toronto, Queen's University, McGill University, and Icole de Technologie Supirieure will work in co-operation to complete the 10-day trek.

McMaster's current solar vehicle, Fireball II, like other vehicles on the tour, was designed and built by students. The McMaster team, which includes representatives from each of the University's six faculties, showcases student-centered innovation in technology, problem-based learning, and inter-disciplinary collaboration.

The Canadian Solar Tour is sponsored by the Government of Ontario, through the Ministries of Economic Development and Trade, Energy, and Environment, and VIA RAIL Canada. For more information on the tour and the scheduled stops, visit the tour Web site, www.thecanadiansolartour.ca.

McMaster's current solar vehicle, Fireball II, is also the second generation solar vehicle used by McMaster's Solar team in the 2003 American Solar Car (ASC) Challenge, a 10-day race from Chicago, Illinois, to Los Angeles, California.