The Ohio State student organization Buckeye Solar Racing is having its first launch event to showcase its solar powered car on April 29 at the Center for Automotive Research between 2 P.M. and 4 P.M. Courtesy of Buckeye Solar Racing

The student organization Buckeye Solar Racing is starting its engines in its first event Saturday to showcase a car running solely on solar power.

Rita Kret, a current BSR member of the electrical and business sub team and a second-year in mechanical engineering, said the event will show the time and effort the organization has put in the “past few years” in designing and manufacturing the solar car. 

Apart from showing all the organization’s work, Kret said the event is also intended to help promote the organization and find new members. 

“I think the main thing we want to get out of this is getting our name out there and making sure that when people think of Ohio State project teams, Buckeye Solar Racing is something they start to think about because we are a relatively new club,” Kret said. 

Kret said the organization was originally founded in April 2021 and has about 50 members “spread out among the four sub teams.” The organization functions similar to a small business, so it’s seeking those who know engineering operations, business, finance and more. 

Atish Anantharam, a fourth-year in mechanical engineering, said the solar car signifies a “fulfilling moment” for the organization.

Anantharam said BSR began to work on its solar car mission when Western Michigan University donated its old vehicle to BSR as a starting point. 

“[Buckeye Solar Racing] has essentially used that vehicle as a framework. We reused the shell from that vehicle, we reused some small parts, we reused the suspension pieces from the vehicle and tried to, essentially, bring the vehicle back to life with our own, sort of, flavor to it,” Anantharam said. 

Kret said a big part of the event is telling people about the long journey BSR faced to get the car ready over the last two years. 

“We’ll have members from the current leadership, as well as a faculty advisor telling about the hurdles we faced pulling off this monumental achievement of building a functional car as an undergraduate student team,” Kret said. “It will be a great walk down memory lane.” 

The event, which will have free admission, will take place at the Center for Automotive Research from 2-4 p.m.