7th Human-Powered Submarine Races To be Held at Premier Navy Facility

One and two-person teams will participate in the 7th running of the International Human-Powered Submarine Races (ISR), a biennial engineering design competition June 23-27, 2003, at the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Carderock Division in Bethesda, Md. This is the fourth time the event will be held at the 3200-foot David Taylor Model Basin test tank at NSWC. The submarine races are a challenge that began in 1989 and have grown to an event that has seen the participation of universities, colleges, technical schools, corporations, high schools and individuals from throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

INTERNATIONAL SUBMARINE RACES

NEWS:
For Immediate Release      
Media Contact: John Hussey, ISR: 757-229-8585            
Email: seacure@infi.net
Website: www.isrsubrace.org    

NAVY TO HOST 7th HUMAN-POWERED SUBMARINE
RACES; 23 SUBS TO COMPETE AT TEST FACILITY

BETHESDA, MD (PRWEB) May 30, 2003 - One and two-person teams will splash 23 boats in the 7th running of the International Submarine Racesä (ISR), a biennial engineering design competition June 23-27, in one of the world's largest indoor tanks--the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Carderock Division David Taylor Model Basin in Bethesda, Maryland.

This will be the fourth time that the event will be staged in the 3200-foot-long David Taylor test tank at NSWC. The submarine race is a competition that began in 1989 and has grown to include the participation of universities, colleges, corporations, research centers, high schools and privately sponsored teams from the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe. Typical teams consist of student athlete/engineers, wearing scuba gear, who provide propulsion and navigation as their subs run against the clock along a fixed underwater course. The principal objective is education: encouraging innovation in the use of materials, hydrodynamic design, buoyancy, propulsion and underwater life support. Previous races saw the creation of world speed marks and the emergence of a new category of high-speed underwater performance from one-person designs.   

"The Naval Surface Warfare Center is proud to host the 2003 International Submarine Races at its David Taylor Model Basin," said Captain---- Steven Petri, USN, Division Commander. "We are pleased to be able to once again support such an outstanding educational and engineering endeavor."

Participating teams:
Texas A&M University                                     University of Washington
   Virginia Tech University                                 University of Michigan
   University of Maryland (two teams)                University of Quebec, Canada
   University of British Columbia, Canada         University of Veracruzana, Mexico
   Millersville University (PA)                             University of Maine,
   Lafatte College (PA)                                         Sussex County Tech School (NJ)
   Florida Institute of Technology                        University of California at San Diego
   Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, Canada
Independent contestants are Don Burton, Frederick, MD; Bruce Plazyk, Wheaton, IL; Steve Barton, Spring Hill, FL; and Ted Ciamillo, Watkinsville, GA.   

The building of human-powered submarines dates back more than 200 years. Contemporary submarines represent many months, if not years, of effort in labs, workshops and garages by engineering students or individual entrepreneurs. The goal is to design an underwater vehicle that can be powered successfully through the course without malfunctioning, crashing into the bottom, popping to the surface or simply failing to move through the water. For information on the model basin, contact Tom Warring, NSWC public affairs office at 301-227-4465. The Carderock website can be viewed at: www.dt.navy.mil

Media note: Security at Carderock is much higher due to the war on terrorism, resulting in more stringent requirements for media access and photography passes to cover the races. All interested media organizations are urged to contact the ISR as early as possible to arrange credentials. Media members also are urged to work with individual teams as they complete their vehicles and prepare for competition.

ISR Organization, P. O. Box 563, Allentown, NJ 08501 · Ph 609-259-3540 · Fax 609-259-5842