Principia Solar Team Wins, Then Lends Rivals Its Motor
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- Principia College has run a solar car program since 1995, fielding 11 generations of cars all named Ra and racking up first, second, and third place finishes, including second at FSGP 2024, even as the school phases out its only engineering program.
- Principia handed a spare motor and motor controller to the University of Michigan at the 2024 event after Michigan crashed and destroyed its motor, enabling Michigan to complete the cross-country American Solar Challenge in a year Principia only entered the track event.
- Cassiana "Kes" Beresi, Principia's software and electrical lead, sat down with another team during 2024 scrutineering to debug a battery management system that wouldn't trip under overcurrent, writing firmware that got the pack faulting correctly.
- Principia earns its 31-year run through course-credit solar car classes with zero gatekeeping on who joins and an active alumni mentoring network that prevents the typical graduation-driven knowledge loss seen in other student teams.
- Ra 11, Principia's current car, is running a fourth season because the next-generation vehicle is still under construction, putting Principia at a disadvantage under new rules that bumped the solar array limit from 4 to 6 square meters.
- Brian Kamusinga, the team's faculty advisor, framed the team's philosophy as: "If a team needs aid, we will render aid. But we still want to win," tying it to founder Mary Kimball Morgan's whole-person educational philosophy.
- The 2026 Electrek FSGP runs July 21–23 at Brainerd International Raceway, pre-qualifying teams for the American Solar Challenge road race launching July 25 from the Twin Cities.
Why it matters: Principia shows how a small school without an engineering major can sustain a 31-year solar car program through course credit, alumni networks, and a culture of helping rivals — a model that matters as graduation-driven turnover kills most student engineering teams, and one that literally put Michigan on the road at the 2024 race.
