Bucknell solar-electric canoe completes first test on Susquehanna River

A bright green, solar-electric canoe-like boat completed its first on-water test on the Susquehanna River near Shikellamy State Park Marina in Sunbury, giving Bucknell University a visible proof of concept that began in a classroom and ended on the water. The run, which took place during the week of May 18, showed that a student-built system could move quietly and without a conventional engine on a river that sits at the center of Union County life.

Recent Bucknell electrical engineering graduate Brennah Kennedy ’26 built the boat’s power system through an independent study tied to her sustainable energy concentration. Nate Siegel, Bucknell’s Heinemann Family Professor in Engineering, professor of mechanical engineering and mechanical engineering associate co-chair, supplied the canoe platform and helped shape the broader design. Bucknell said the project started as coursework but grew into something larger once the team saw it could become the basis for a future entry in collegiate electric-boat competition.

The launch did not happen without a setback. Indoor testing turned up a faulty solar controller, forcing the team to troubleshoot before the river trial. Once that part was replaced, the system worked on the water and validated months of design work. Siegel said the point was to build a foundation that future students could expand, while Kennedy said the boat’s quiet movement made the environmental payoff unmistakable, with no engine noise and no direct pollution from the ride.

The project lands in the middle of a fast-growing competition scene. Solar Splash, the collegiate solar-boating championship, held its 2026 event June 2-6 in Springfield, Ohio. The American Society of Naval Engineers says the related Promoting Electric Propulsion competition has grown from one university to 34 in six years, drew more than 200 students in 2024, and brought together more than 350 collegiate engineers from more than 40 universities in 2026. That scale helps explain why a small prototype on the Susquehanna matters far beyond Bucknell’s campus.

For Union County, the boat is also a local reminder of how Bucknell’s engineering program connects classroom work to the region’s waterways and clean-tech future. Kennedy, who grew up on a farm in Montoursville, has said electrical engineering drew her because of its value for sustainability and renewable energy, and she joined Bucknell’s Grand Challenges Scholars Program by the end of her first year. If the project keeps moving, Siegel has said Bucknell could be ready to compete by 2027, turning one river test into the start of a much larger regional pipeline.