Getting a fast start

Rauhit Ashar, 6, a gifted sixth-grader from Western Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School in Midland, Pa., was the youngest competitor at the annual Southern Finger Lakes-area finals of the Junior Solar Sprint competition for area middle school students May 18 in Bartels Hall. Rain forced the competition indoors, so the competitors from six regional schools used battery packs instead of solar panels. Watching Ashar assemble his car are Jonathan Schoenberg, left, a Cornell junior in electrical and computer engineering, and Michel Louge, Cornell professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and a judge at the competition. Frank DiMeo/University Photography