UNI Solar Panthers place third at Solar Splash

For the second year in a row, the University of Northern Iowa hosted the 2012 Solar Splash World Championship of Intercollegiate Solar Boat Racing June 13 through 17, at George Wyth State Park in Cedar Falls. Eighteen college and university teams from across the country, including teams from Turkey, England and Mexico, participated in this year's event.

Since 1994, the Solar Splash World Championship has been held in different cities throughout the U.S. This international, intercollegiate solar/electric boating competition is a practical education experience, which helps to develop teamwork and interdisciplinary skills.

This year, the Solar Panthers team captured first place in the sprint event and third place overall behind Istanbul Technical University (first place) and Ohio's Cedarville University (second place).

"This was for sure the best Solar Splash Championship for UNI since 1999," said Reg Pecen, professor in UNI's Department of Technology. "Hosting the Solar Splash World Championship and having and excellent Solar Panthers team at UNI is one of the many achievements of UNI towards promoting the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) initiative in Iowa."

For complete results, visit www.solarsplash.com.

The UNI Solar Panthers team at this year's Solar Splash Championship.