The Cal State LA Solar Car Team was a group of engineering students at California State University, Los Angeles that developed the Solar Eagle series of solar cars that competed in solar car races in the United States and Australia. Solar Eagle 1990: Solar Eagle - GM Sunrayce USA: 4th place 1990: Solar Eagle - World Solar Challenge: in the top ten On display at Cal State LA The Solar Eagle was designed and built by the Cal State L.A. School of Engineering & Technology students, faculty and staff. In July 1990, the Solar Eagle placed fourth in the 1,643 mile GM Sunrayce, the best performance among California entrants, and ahead of 28 other colleges and universities including MIT and Stanford. In the daily races, it placed first twice, second once, and third place three times, and the Solar Eagle was the only car in the race that had no mechanical or electrical failures during the race. World Solar Challenge The Solar Eagle placed in the top ten out of 40 cars from 9 countries (13 Australia, 11 Japan, 9 United States) during the 1990 World Solar Challenge in Australia. The race took place on November 11, 1990 starting from Darwin and ending in Adelaide, Australia, covering . Technical specifications Length: 6 meters Width: 2 meters Height: 1 meter Weight: 459 pounds (without driver) Drag Coefficient: 0.123 Frame: Welded 6061 T6 aluminum alloy tubing (Weight=23 pounds) Body: Carbon fiber/NOMEX composite sandwich Solar panel: Fiberglass/NOMEX composite sandwich Solar cells: 8,945 Spectrolab K7 single-crystal silicon space quality cells Motor: Unique Mobility, Inc. DC brushless motor Batteries: Eagle-Picher silver-zinc batteries; 120 volt nominal buss voltage; 4 kW-hr total capacity at C20 rate Awards The car also won three Department of Energy Awards: first place for "Best Artistic Design" ($500), second place for "Innovation in Power Train Design" ($800), and third place for "Teamwork" ($600). Other honors include: Society of Automotive Engineers: fifth place for "Engineering Design and Safety" Engineering Excellence Award: Unique Mobility, Inc. The Governor's Energy Award: State of Florida Team Honored by Los Angeles City Council, August 10, 1990 Nationally televised appearance on Into the Night, Starring Rick Dees, August 15, 1990 Team Honored by Department of Water and Power Board of Commissioners, August 23, 1990 City of Los Angeles, Mayor Tom Bradley: Commendation Board of Directors, City of Pasadena: Commendation City of Alhambra, Mayor Barbara Messina: Commendation City of Monterey