| Solar-powered! |
 |
|
Rebecca
Arrington
|
A
15-member team of U.Va. engineering students is preparing
its solar-powered car, Solar Revolution II, for the Formula
Sun Grand Prix 2001, a 2,300-mile solar car race from Chicago
to Claremont, Calif. The July 15-25 race will include 40 solar
cars built by various university teams, companies and clubs
worldwide. Teams must qualify for the race by meeting strict
specifications and road-worthiness standards during an event
July 9-13 in Kalamazoo, Mich. U.Va. students, with the help
of faculty adviser George Cahen, professor of materials science
and engineering, have been working on their car since 1998
and raced for the first time in 1999. Here, left to right,
engineering students Justin Selfridge, Fernando Hannaka, Chung
Lee and Gen Shimizu work on the car’s brakes as they
prepare for the qualifying event. Visit the U.Va. solar car
Web site at http://www.UVaSolarCar.com
|
U.Va. gets $20 million for arena;
board OKs budget
Staff
Report
The
University will receive $20 million to kick off its fund-raising
campaign for a proposed athletics and special events arena on Massie
Road, U.Va. President John T. Casteen III announced to the Board
of Visitors during its three-day meeting last week.
The
anonymous gift represents about one-third of the core funding needed
to begin the arena project, estimated to cost $125 million. The
gift, the second largest gift ever for U.Va. athletics, will finance
the planning of the project, slated for completion by fall 2006.
“This
extraordinary commitment is wonderful news for men’s and women’s
basketball,” Casteen said. “The need for a new facility
is clear. The larger community will also benefit. We are deeply
grateful to the donor for expressing a firm dedication to excellence
through this gift.”
Aside
from basketball, the arena could be used for concerts, major addresses
and other special events, he said.
The
board authorized strategic planning for a new arena in October 1998
and included it in a six-year capital spending plan this past spring.
Full story.
Some
capital projects proceed
By
Dan Heuchert
University
officials welcomed news of Gov. Jim Gilmore’s approval to spend
$64.1 million in privately raised funds on several capital projects
that had been frozen since he and state legislators were unable
to resolve a state budget impasse.
The money released includes $43.3 million for academic division
projects and $20.8 million for the Medical Center.
Under
Virginia law, Gilmore and the state General Assembly must authorize
all major capital spending, regardless of the source of funding.
The University had requested amendments to the current two-year
state budget totaling $132 million in non-general funds — money
not from state coffers — and bonds. But Gilmore and the legislature
were unable to agree on a budget, and the assembly adjourned, leaving
the projects in limbo.
State
law, however, allows the governor to approve some non-general-fund
projects on his own authority, although he cannot allow the state
to assume debt without legislative approval. Further negotiations
pared the University’s request to the amounts announced June
13 and 14. Full story.
|
