Junior electrical engineering student Shane Poindexter, of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks’ “Nanook” team, explains  how the team transported their six vehicles more than 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) to Houston: In their airline luggage. He says even in an oil-producing state, the students recognize the importance of building more fuel-efficient vehicles.

The team team’s six cars are powered by six different fuels, and they are named for Santa’s reindeer:  Blitzen runs on solar power; Comet, on 100 percent ethanol; Donner, on battery electricity; Cupid, on a hydrogen fuel cell; Dancer on diesel; and Vixen on biodiesel.