The GTSR Electrical Team is tasked with the design and implementation of the various electrical subsystems required for a solar-powered vehicle. From the solar cells to the battery pack to the power train, we deal with ultra-high efficiency and solid reliability. We get the opportunity to work on cutting edge designs and with power electronics developed by various international firms and research organizations. Our members range in disciplines from pure CS to analog and digital design. The electrical team is subdivided into four sub-teams: Auxiliary Systems, Batteries and BMS, Drivetrain, Solar and MPPT.
Zixuan (Harry) Kang | Electrical Lead
Zixuan Kang (Harry) is the Electrical lead. He is responsible for the proper operation of the electrical system on SR-3 and coordinates different development tasks for SR-4. He is a fourth-year computer engineering student from Shanghai, China, flying across the Pacific Ocean, over 16,000 km to pursue his dream of building his own electric vehicle one day. Working in the Solar Racing team is the first step for him. He will graduate in Spring 2022 and begin his career as a Verification Engineer with ARM Ltd. in Phoenix, AZ.
Marcus Chan | Auxiliary Systems Lead
Marcus is a third year Electrical Engineering student from Southern California. As Aux lead, he is responsible for the vehicle’s low voltage systems to enable lights, vision, driver control, and telemetry. With PCB design, firmware, and way too many wires, Aux aligns well Marcus’s oscillating interests between hardware and software as he meanders into the GT MSECE program in Fall’22.
Solomon Hutchins | Batteries & BMS Lead
Solomon is a first-year Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering student. As the Batteries and BMS subteam lead, he’s responsible for maintaining safe and reliable energy storage for SR-3 and leading design of SR-4’s battery pack. In the future, he hopes to apply his knowledge from GTSR to develop solutions in the field of renewable energy.
Mario Lopes | Powertrain Lead
After watching Interstellar too many times, convincing himself that what he wanted to do was build rockets, and trying his hand at Mechanical Engineering for a semester, Mario finally decided that what truly inspires him is energy sustainability, and is currently in his first year of Electrical Engineering. Coming from São Paulo, Brazil, he hopes to one day leverage the experiences he is developing as the team’s Powertrain Lead to amplify the use of public transportation in an energy-conscious way and hopefully, by then, have figured out why BLDC motors are not simply called brushless motors.
Bailey Rende | Solar & MPPT Lead
Bailey is a third-year electrical engineering student from Georgia. His responsibilities as Solar Subteam Lead include overseeing member projects, collaborating with aerobody to develop SR-4’s array, and any project related to the improvement of the solar array and MPPTs. In his free time, he likes to work on and drive cars, and he hopes to one day work at an ambitious electric car company such as Lucid or Rivian.