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June 10, 2025
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UNM places first at solar boating championship
June 10, 2025 - By Carly Bowling
Left to right: Kristina Ji, Silas Murphy, Jesus Martinez, Isaiah Deane, David Sabol, and faculty advisor Peter Vorobieff
The University of New Mexico Solar Splash team was named World Champion of Collegiate Solar Boating over the weekend at the annual Solar Splash competition held in Ohio.
UNM Solar Splash is one of the senior design capstone project options for Mechanical Engineering students, with students from other engineering majors often participating to assist with the boat’s electrical systems. Students spend the academic year leading up to the competition designing and constructing a solar-powered boat. Participants include universities from around the U.S. and abroad. The team's technical reports and videos are also scored prior to several sprint, slalom, and endurance races.
In addition to placing first overall, the UNM team was recognized with the Outstanding Electrical System Design Award. The students also placed second in the solar endurance and slalom races, and third in the sprint race and Outstanding Technical Report category.
“This was the best boat the UNM students brought to the competition since our university began participating in Solar Splash almost a decade ago,” Peter Vorobieff, faculty advisor for the UNM team, said. “Solar Splash provides the students with a realistic experience of what an entire path from a concept to a working product looks like in modern engineering, including some less glamorous aspects like fundraising or dealing with supply-chain issues.”
This year, students named their boat “Unaltered Carbon” as a nod to the carbon fiber used to construct it and a play on the title of Richard Morgan’s science fiction novel “Altered Carbon.”
Students on the UNM competition team include Kristina Ji, Silas Murphy, Jesus Martinez, Isaiah Deane and David Sabol.
The sponsors of this year’s competition were the UNM School of Engineering, mechanical engineering alumnus Roger Koerner, David Menicucci, Sandia National Laboratories, DHX Electric Machines, and SendCutSend.
UNM has competed in Solar Splash since 2016. The program is funded almost entirely through donations. Donations to Solar Splash can be made here.