A college student who was a groundbreaker in “sustainability” efforts while a Port Townsend High School student is now contributing to a project to create what is intended to be a record-setting solar-powered vehicle.

Ewan Shortess, PTHS Class of 2014, is now a student at Iowa State University in Ames. The university is home to PrISUm, a student-led organization founded in 1989 that has developed 12 award-winning solar vehicles, with an overall mission of developing a practical solar car that changes the paradigm of transportation.

The student-run, registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is building an entry for the World Solar Challenge 2017, being hosted in Australia. Dubbed “Penumbra,” the car is intended to introduce the world to the future of transportation, according to PrISUm members.

Shortess is not an engineer; his team contributions have been through his “knowledge and expertise in shipping and logistics,” he said.

“PrISUm is not a typical student organization; it gives students real-world experience in a complicated and innovate project that covers so many topics,” Shortess said.

Shortess knows a bit about “real world” projects. In 2012 at PTHS, he founded Students for Sustainability, which quickly became the high school’s largest and fastest-growing nonathletic program. He facilitated the group to make sustainable changes in reducing the carbon footprint of the high school, which included a waste and energy audit. In 2014, he helped to organize a trip, by train, to Washington, D.C., so that club members could meet with legislators and other government officials promoting action to mitigate climate change. He was also a student representative on the Climate Action Committee, a Port Townsend and Jefferson County group.

Now an ISU student and a member of what is billed as the “Midwest’s most prestigious solar car team,” Shortess is helping prepare for the World Solar Challenge.

The Bridgestone-sponsored event is Oct. 8-15, 2017 in Australia. Teams begin in the northern city of Darwin and race approximately 3,000 kilometers to the southern city of Adelaide. Aside from the allotted stored energy, all cars must obtain 90 percent of their energy from the sun or recover the vehicle’s kinetic energy.

Penumbra, PrISUm’s entry, is the team’s newest (and unfinished) solar car and is intended to be the world’s first solar utility vehicle.

“The automotive industry is moving slower than I would like to see,” said Matt Goode, project director of PrISUm, in a press release. “If we, full-time students in a state known for agriculture, can build a solar utility vehicle that changes how you think of transportation, then we can start a shift in the way cars are designed and built. It is overdue and is about to happen.”

Penumbra weighs about 900 pounds and reaches a top speed of 70 miles per hour.

Production of the car costs $750,000 in materials, machine time and cash, with about two-thirds of funding coming from sponsors. Donations range anywhere from $10 to $10,000.

PrISUm took home its first victory in 2015 at the Formula Sun Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. The team looks to build momentum by increasing sponsorship and attracting talent before the World Solar Challenge in 2017.

Shortess, the son of Deb and John Shortess of Port Townsend, is one of about 170 ISU students working on the solar utility vehicle project.

“PrISUm’s journey to the World Solar Challenge takes this organization to a whole new level,” Shortess said. “Throughout this transformation, PrISUm’s values remain strong: to change the paradigm of transportation and ultimately focus on making the transportation sector more sustainable.”

PrISUm members tour the Midwest, visiting schools, colleges and community events in an effort to educate people about renewable energy, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and the importance of education. Team PrISUm reaches an average audience of 50,000 people per year, according to Goode. During outreach events, team members explain the process of designing, manufacturing and racing a solar-powered vehicle. Donations are welcome.

Learn more at

prisum.iastate.edu.