Grant Espy | President
Grant is a third-year Mechanical Engineering student. As GTSR President, Grant is responsible for overseeing project management, business and race operations, and team logistics. When not working on cars or robots, Grant enjoys playing board games, running, rock climbing, and more!
Advay Pampattiwar | SR-4 Vehicle Lead
Advay is a second-year Mechanical Engineering major from Duluth, GA. As the Vehicle Lead, Advay leads the design, validation, and implementation of the team’s current car, SR-4. In his free time, Advay enjoys attending sporting events with friends and is involved in Georgia Tech’s Archery Club.
Aubrey Bee-Lindgren | SR-5 Vehicle Lead
Aubrey is a second-year Materials Science Engineering and Chemistry double major from Decatur, GA. As the SR-5 Vehicle Lead, Aubrey is leading the design of the team’s next car, SR-5. Outside of Solar Racing, Aubrey tutors chemistry and writes fiction.
Pranjal Chatterjee | Electrical Lead
Pranjal is a second-year Electrical Engineering major and CS + Physics minor from San Jose, California. As the team’s Electrical Lead, Pranjal oversees the design and implementation of all electrical systems for GTSR’s solar car, ensuring that all regulatory standards are met. Outside of Solar Racing, Pranjal enjoys playing the trombone, cooking, and listening to K-pop.
Sam Woolsey | Mechanical Lead
Sam is a second-year Mechanical Engineering student from Blacksburg, VA. As Mechanical Lead, Sam is responsible for the design and implementation of all mechanical systems on the solar car. Interested in energy systems, Sam is minoring in nuclear engineering and is an active member of the GT American Nuclear Society and GT Energy Club. In his free time, Sam enjoys playing marimba and drum set.
Alexa Hoang | Race Operations Lead
Alexa is a first-year Mechanical Engineering major from Dallas, TX. As Race Ops Lead, Alexa is responsible for ensuring the solar car is prepared to compete by overseeing solar car testing, race planning and logistics, and developing and executing testing plans and race tactics. Outside of Solar Racing, Alexa enjoys climbing, swimming, cooking, and sewing.
Chittebbayi Penugonda | Strategy Co-Lead
Chittebbayi is a second-year Computer Science major from Cumming, GA. As Strategy Co-Lead, Chittebbayi is responsible for overseeing SRSim, the software that optimizes the team’s race strategy. Outside of Solar Racing and coding, he enjoys volleyball, bouldering, and poker.
Arnav Tripathi | Strategy Co-Lead
Arnav is a second-year Computer Science major from Cumming, GA. As Strategy Co-Lead, Arnav is responsible for overseeing SRSim, the software that optimizes the team’s race strategy. Outside of Solar Racing, he enjoys hiking, volleyball, pickelball, Formula 1, and football.
Navan Kothari | Business Lead
Navan is a third-year Business student from Marietta, GA. As Business Lead, Navan is responsible for regulating the team budget, managing the team sponsors, and raising funds for the team. Outside of Solar Racing, Navan is involved with Epic Intentions Consulting on campus and enjoys basketball, dancing, reading, and traveling.
Emery Stratman | Outreach Lead
Emery is a second-year Mechanical Engineering student from Northern VA. As Outreach Lead, Emery handles recruitment, social events, and the club’s presence on campus and online. Outside of Solar Racing, Emery enjoys music, running, and watching baseball.
Mike Tinskey | Faculty Advisor
Mike recently led Ford Motor Company’s go-to-market strategy and execution for Ford’s electrified vehicles globally from 2009-2019. Mike developed and executed foundational global product cycle plan and incubated new businesses and services to support the plug-in products such as Mustang Mach-e, Focus EV, Fusion Energi, and Transit Connect Electric. Mr. Tinskey was the lead in getting global automakers to align around a common EV connector for high-powered charging.
Mike also led emerging business activities as Director of Global Emerging Services, Connected Vehicles. His focus was to develop and implement new products, business models, and partnerships to ensure the success of Ford’s connectivity plans globally, including the generation of new revenue opportunities. Mike recently led the creation of several new entities including Ford Insure (digital insurance), Ionity (ultra-fast charging joint venture), and Ford Commercial Services (digital fleet services). He’s also been one of the key leaders in spinning off technology-based component companies Visteon and Automotive Components Holdings (ACH).
Mike is a co-founder of Cobra Motorcycles, as well as a drone start-up Cobra Aero. Mr. Tinskey has served on the Georgia Tech Mechanical Engineering and ECE Advisory boards for well over a decade. He enjoys mentoring start-ups and CreateX teams.
Mike is currently the Professor of Practice at Georgia Tech with his research and teaching focus on intrapreneurship, electrification, and energy.
David Smith | Mechanical Advisor
David R. “Alpha” Smith (Ph.D., PE) has spent his career between teaching and engineering practice. After working initially as a postdoctoral research engineer, he joined the Mechanical Engineering faculty at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, earning tenure there in 1998. In 2000, he entered private engineering practice, supporting the design, commissioning, and control of large, high-frequency radio telescopes. While this allowed occasional opportunities to teach, he missed the classroom enough to return full-time to teaching by joining Georgia Tech’s GWW School of Mechanical Engineering as a Lecturer in 2018. He teaches a wide range of courses in the undergraduate core curriculum and has provided advice to the GT Solar Racing team in mechanical design, mechanisms, experimental design, modeling, and data analysis.