Poly Students Chase
SOLAR CAR
DREAMS
A team of students has worked tirelessly for the past two years on an extraordinary endeavor: a solar-powered car, designed and built from the ground up. This incredible undertaking of student innovation and creativity has been fueled by the tremendous generosity of our community of supporters and the expertise of dedicated faculty mentors.
Poly’s Solar Car Team, led by Upper School Math Teacher Dominic Rosato and mentor Deniz Armani, set their sights on the advanced division of the national Solar Car Challenge. Held at the world-famous Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, the ​
race would test everything the students were hoping to improve upon following their entry the prior year.
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The Perihelion, Poly’s 2025 submission, features a larger solar array, lithium-ion battery system, and custom carbon fiber components. Deniz Armani shared that in the process of building the Perihelion, the students had the opportunity to “learn every discipline of engineering—mechanical, electrical, materials science, even chemical. They had to design everything, fabricate everything, and it’s really great for them to quite literally get their hands dirty.”​
Jeremy Hsieh ’25 credits his interest in the project to teammate Aria Wang ’23, who helped launch Poly’s solar journey in 2021. “What kept us going was the dream of building something faster and better using composites,” Jeremy said. “We’ve gained skills from welding to high-voltage safety, and even corporate negotiations. Being on this team has taught me so much about project management and mentorship."
“I joined because I wanted to do real, meaningful engineering work,” said Aikam Singh ’25. “This project taught me how to think critically, communicate across teams, and lead by listening. Most importantly, it showed me how engineering can serve a greater purpose—like sustainability.”
The competition kicked off on July 16, and after passing days of rigorous scrutineering tests, the Perihelion hit the track strong, leading for much of the first half. The second day of competition brought a devastating setback when a tire blew out as the car was going full speed. The driver lost control and the car hit a side wall. Miraculously, the driver emerged unharmed.
Working overnight in the Texas heat, the team repaired Perihelion and returned to the track stronger than before—breaking a course record for most laps in a single day on the third day and earning second place overall.
“The race had its ups and downs, and overall, it was phenomenal; truly an experience you can rarely get again,” shared Daniel Zheng ’25.
In addition to placing second in the competition, the team also took home the telemetry award, thanks to their innovative system that overlayed real-time data onto the car’s video feed.
“This project was our life for the past four months,” Jeremy reflected. “From the endless nights … to the actual race, I would have to say this was one of my fondest memories.”