THE CURRENT
cur·rent /ˈkərənt/ adjective | occurring at the present moment noun | monthly newsletter of CalSol, UC Berkeley Solar Vehicle Team
Welcome to CalSol’s first issue of The Current!
Dear CalSol alumni and friends,
It’s been a while since our last newsletter, but we haven’t slowed down! We are excited to bring back our newsletter We hope to share updates every month on the progress of our current car, the next-generation car, and the CalSol team at-large
In this newsletter, you’ll find updates on: FSGP 2025
Welcoming a Gen XI develo Member spotli
Thank you for bein friends of CalSol.
Go bears and go C
Sincerely, The Marketing Tea
Letter from our Program Director
Hey CalSol Community,
We are bringing back our newsletter!
As a sneak peek, you can look forward to hearing about progress on our 11th generation car, CalSol's return to road testing, and events that we will be attending
Peter Choi Program Director
THE CURRENT
Formula Sun Grand Prix ‘25
During June, we tirelessly prepared for the 2025 Formula Sun Grand Prix. Our truck and trailer crew drove over 2000 miles to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to safely transport Excalibur to its second-ever race.
We faced a thorough scrutineering process to be granted access to the track, which we successfully accomplished within the allotted time. Our record-breaking 52-person race crew was the largest ever brought in FSGP history. Bringing this large of a team gave students an unforgettable experience in navigating logistical and engineering solutions in real-world situations.
Excalibur raced 117 laps (~370 miles) across three days of competition. We finished in 7th place out of 26 single-occupant vehicles, with our fastest lap coming in at 4:49. We gained lots of valuable experience and will be back better than ever next year!
Looking ahead, we are now manufacturing our eleventh-generation solar vehicle. We have been hard at work to bring the vehicle we have meticulously designed over the past year to life. Stay tuned for more updates on the manufacturing process!
THE CURRENT
RFS Megatrip + New Members
This semester, CalSol welcomed 150 new members- meaning CalSol has grown 2x larger since last semester!
We spent the day at Richmond Field Station (RFS) touring the site, checking out Excalibur and past solar cars, and celebrating how far our team has come.
Check us out on instagram @berkeleycalsol for more updates!
If you can, please visit our crowdfunding page and consider donating to help fund our participation in next year ’ s Formula Sun Grand Prix (FSGP) and American Solar Challenge (ASC)!
THE CURRENT
Gen XI Updates
Gen XI has been in the works for over a year now. Let’s review some projects our team has been working on this semester!
shell manufacturing
steering wheel
roll cage
array design
HVPDB (high voltage power distribution board)
THE CURRENT
MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
Calvin Lee Engineering Director
Hello, I am a third-year Chemistry and Computer Science major! I first discovered CalSol during my freshman year after being amazed at a carbon fiber sandwich panel at a tabling event, now my favorite item to showcase when I am doing outreach
As Solar Co-Project Manager last year, I led the array design for our 11th-generation car As Technical Lead at the 2025 FSGP, and now Engineering Director, I've been able to dive deep into many parts of the car, from installing steering stops, to coordinating scrutineering, and helping with wet layups with shell
Outside of CalSol, I enjoy running, researching NMR instrumentation, playing basketball with friends, and eating good food I'm constantly inspired by how much progress the team makes and how collaborative the environment is across such a wide range of disciplines
Eleanor Tjoa Shell Project Manager
Hi, I’m Eleanor Tjoa, a second year in Mechanical Engineering Upon onboarding, I soon realized being on a student team was not a simple matter. Even with RFS trips a m to the p m and learning from Jae Won about everything and anything p.m. to the a m , I knew that I wanted to do it with CalSol After being a general member for a semester, I now serve as Co-PM of Shell, where the opportunities to learn are endless.
To a freshman who didn’t know what “plug” meant, it was daunting to lead the shell manufacturing However, with the help of everyone on the team (especially Paige, Anav, Roberto, and many more) and numerous alumni (thank you Alex, Annika, Andrew, Michael, and many more), creating the car became attainable. Although we haven’t finished bottom shell or even started top shell, I look forward to seeing Gen XI drive. The culmination of the team’s work will be historical
THE CURRENT
CROSSWORD
THE CURRENT
THANKS FOR READING!
Please fill out our feedback form below
1.Is our newsletter too long?
2.More pictures or more words?
3.Your favorite sections?
4 Would you be interested in attending a design review?
5.Do you have any interest in buying or receiving a legacy CalSol vehicle (Impulse, Zephyr, Tachyon)?
6.Free response feedback (topics you’d like to see in future newsletters)
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeo6sGXDM9Y1nxJqFB4eb NrVi6CrqsCRYzY oT1x1LOCUSg0w/viewform?usp=header
(If viewing in email, check below this page)
Please consider donating to support CalSol
Please consider donating to support CalSol’s future. Don’t forget that CalSol is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and your gifts are tax-deductible! Thank you!
https://crowdfund.berkeley.edu/project/47404
(If viewing in email, check below this page)
Thank you to our contributors of this newsletter
P1 Image: Andrew Hiranprasitikul
P2 Text: Aman Nazeeri Images: Aricia Huo (L), Cora Kennedy (R)
P3 Text: Jessica Liu, Lori Wu Images: Jerrick Wang
P4 Images: (in vertical order) Andrew Hiranprasitikul, Raul Sarabia, Matthew Lee/Eric Li, Cooper Pittenger/Swetha Ashok
P5 Text: Calvin Lee, Eleanor Tjoa Images: Andrew Hiranprasitikul
P6 Text: Jessica Liu, Lori Wu