The Human Powered Submarine Team (HPS) exists to compete in the biennial International Submarine Race (ISR) in Bethesda, Maryland at the Navy's David Taylor Model Basin. We also compete in the European International Submarine Races (eISR) held biennially (during the years when the ISR is not held) in Gosport, England. HPS is an extracurricular student project team, so membership is voluntary. Stud
ents join our team because of their passion for submarines, the challenge of the design process, the prospect of winning international honors at the races, or simply for the excitement of belonging to an engineering team and working towards a common goal. Members of the team come from a variety of engineering program backgrounds including Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering (NAME), Aerospace Engineering (AERO), Mechanical Engineering (ME), Materials Science and Engineering (MSE), Industrial Operations Engineering (IOE), Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), Chemical Engineering (CHEME), Nuclear Engineering (NERS), Biomedical Engineering (BME), and Electrical Engineering (EE). HPS management is entirely composed of University of Michigan students. Team members design, fabricate, finance, and promote the project, under the guidance of our faculty advisor, Professor Robert Beck. The HPS Dive Team is essential to our mission. SCUBA trained team members are the only team members permitted to be in the water with the sub for testing and racing. Team members complete supplemental training in addition to their basic open water training. See "SCUBA Information" for more. Our Mission Statement:
It is the mission of the Human Powered Submarine Team to provide an opportunity for students to explore their interests, apply their theoretical education, and gain the hands-on experience that cannot be learned in a lecture hall in an effort to make a racing human powered submarine. The International Submarine Race (ISR)
The submarine races are a challenge that began in 1989 and have grown to an event that has seen the participation of teams from the United States, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela and Europe. The Subs are timed through a 100-meter section of the Model Basin, an indoor channel usually used by the US Navy to test new ship designs. Teams run the course one at a time, and may take as many turns as time allows over the course of the five-day competition. All of the submarines competing in the ISR are free flooding designs - meaning that there is no air inside the vehicle, so the pilot must use SCUBA gear to breath during the race. For more information on this race, visit www.isrsubrace.org
The European International Submarine Race (eISR)
The eISR brings a new and exciting challenge to human-powered submarine racing. This will be the grand slalom to complement the existing downhill of the ISR. The focus will still be on completing the course in the fastest time, but additional points will be scored for manoeuvrability and acceleration. For more information on this race, visit www.subrace.eu/index.html
