Growing up in a very competitive environment in China, “Faster, higher, stronger”, was my motto as a teenager, and I was obsessed with technology that enabled people to go beyond their limitations. For instance, I absolutely adored sports cars. The stylish look, the roar of engines, and the smart control systems made it a dream for me to work on related projects. Thus, I was excited to join Solar Pack, the first solar car team at NC State University, even though there were less than 10 people there and none of us had any experience building cars let alone a solar one. More surprisingly, we decided to trade off speed and build a 4-seater solar vehicle to compete in the American Solar Challenge, which was the biggest solar car race in North America. With surprises and excitement, this experience marked the start of my journey to explore the relationship between machines and humans.

“Let’s make something compelling that consumer actually wants to buy”.

The team leader Bryon told us about the car he envisioned I knew it would be a challenge upon a challenge. Teams in the American Solar Challange spent years, even generations, to build solar-powered vehicles for the competition, and so it seemed to make a marketable solar car that could also compete even harder. While exciting, I couldn’t help think it counterintuitive to build a 4-seater solar vehicle to compete when all the other contestants had planned to enter one-seaters made for speed. Hearing Bryon’s vision was an important moment of awakening for me. Many people are obsessed with faster and stronger machines thinking those are the traits that make technology, and life great. What is the cost of this kind of thinking though, I wondered. Global warming, acid rain, and harms to human health were immediate and long-term effects of car exhausts and noises. 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per typical passenger vehicle multiplying 1.42 billion cars in the world, I was shocked by the environmental impact of traditional automobiles. I started to examine my teenage zeal and imagination for automation and machines. Like many other young people, speed, power, and victories, etc all excited me. I used to enjoy watching people beefing up their muscle cars and having fun by consuming limited resources. And, my dream was to build stronger and more powerful engines and automation when I decided to study Electrical Engineering. With more readings, learnings, and discussions in the team, I quickly abandoned my teenage passion for flashy and more seemingly “ambitious” technology as well as my desire to win. No, a 4-wheel monster that runs faster by burning more gas was not as cool as a solar vehicle that went slow yet could illuminate new possibilities for solar power and automobiles. I raised my awareness of environmental issues and confirmed my sustainable belief. Finally, my teammates and I decided to bring solar vehicles off the track and to a broader audience by building a sustainable and consumer-friendly solar vehicle to inspire the public.

Meanwhile, I start to challenge my understandings and belives in automation and machinery. Looking back, the First and Second Industrial Revolution was motivated by laissez-faire capitalism where privileged individuals eager to improve productivity and desire of more profits powered the process. Undeniably, they are remarkable events in human history, and machinery and industrialization have brought incredible advances in people’s life. However, they have also brought pollution and widened the gap between rich and poor. I began to notice that countless investments had been made to make cars not only tools that transport but also symbols of wealth and privilege. In 2016, over 70 million passenger cars were produced in a single year, and millions of engineers were dedicated to pursuing the “faster, higher, stronger” dream by investing days and nights on these machines. Now we want the newest innovation, the latest technology, chasing it – preordering it, racing it in competitions – but are we not now just chasing it for the sake of chasing it? I made up my mind that I want to be an engineer who values the story and cause behind projects and technology.

As the team grew bigger and more diverse, I soon realized the importance of teamwork. It was not easy to communicate within the team that consisted of undergraduates, graduates, and professors from the College of Engineering, College of Design, and College of Management, however. We spoke different languages, were of different ages and backgrounds, but our design goals require us to work closely and, more importantly, harmoniously. Like technology itself. As a freshman, I learned to communicate both vertically and horizontally, spending most of my time working with my teammates, learning, and collaborating in hands-on tasks. For instance, I learned about the Battery Management System and CAN bus by playing with real systems with my teammates. I also learned soldering, basic PCB making, and even welding, which gave me confidence and the necessary foundations to start my own hands-on research later.

Last but not least, Solar Pack has taught me to take initiatives even though it is hard. Almost every step in the making was difficult and new to our team, but we had the spirit to grasp every learning opportunity even if it means failures and frustrations. We reached out to get external technical and financial supports while attempted to manufacturing parts in the house as much as we can. A year flew away quickly, and we didn’t get the car ready when the competition approached. However, another 3 teammates and I decided to drive to Austin from Raleigh to volunteer representing our team. We were amazed by the amazing tracks in the Circuit of The Americas and the teams’ vehicles. I never thought I could be working in a racing car station and all the cars were unique and environmentally friendly built by college students like me. Each of us had a notebook in hand and tons of questions in mind. We asked every team questions and were inspired by their stories. I learned that it’s okay to not know exactly how to accomplish your goals, as long as you are willing, notebook in hand, and the team at your side, to take the first step. Working in the hot summer and even on Independence Day in TX was not enjoyable, but when I think of the fireworks upon the tracks, everything appeared dreamy and I was ready to take my initiatives in research.

Soon after we returned to our motley crew’s garage, the recruitment team from Tesla visited us. Hearing about their working experiences and advice made it even more clear to me that taking initiatives and pursuing meanings are also vital principles in Engineering that I didn’t learn from the class. After only one year’s experience on this project, I realized that I did not need to chase after the latest technological developments and the products they make, but, instead, need to have moments of stillness to examine the ever-evolving role of technology in our lives. Many people are working on making faster cars, but maybe what we really need is people who are making slower cars that do more than simply circle endlessly on a track.