Solar Decathlon squares with UC21 goals
By Jamie Woods
What started out as a cool idea for the environmentally conscious Davis eventually took off in a big way. After reading about the Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon online, he took his pitch to have UC participate to Anton Harfmann, associate dean and associate professor of Architecture, who became a mentor and advisor for him and what has become a very dedicated Solar Decathlon team. As the project expanded, more and more people came together to offer support, including UC's Office of Research.
"One of the offices that reports to me, the Technology Transfer Office, started telling me about it," says Sandra Degen, PhD, vice president of research at UC. Degen, who admits she wasn't aware of the project when it was completely student-initiated, is eager to improve communications with students to encourage similar projects. "I think those kinds of things are wonderful! I've started undergraduate research programs to give undergraduates research opportunities and this fits right in with that."
Degen wasn't the only one who showed enthusiasm for the project. UC President Nancy Zimpher, PhD, one of the key developers of UC21 (the university's growth plan for the 21st century), believes the decathlon project applies to the goals of the plan in almost every respect.
"The first goal of UC21 is putting students at the center," Zimpher says. "Students are building it (the solar house). Secondly, they are using research on sustainability, green house and environmental issues. And thirdly, they wouldn't be this smart if they weren't studying if they weren't studying in top-rate academic programs." Considering that the school's Architecture and Industrial Design programs have continuously ranked among the best in the nation, her reasoning seems sound.
Zimpher also points out the tremendous community sponsorship the students have received. Companies like P&G, Maytag and Pella, as well as numerous private benefactors, have donated supplies and money to the project. The support from these patrons has not only been critical to the success of the house and the students, it has developed valuable partnerships for the university.
"Our fifth goal is a creating a sense of place," says Zimpher. "And when I look out my window I can see that that is what they are doing-they are building a place." And what a place it is. Under construction on four different trailers so it can be transported to the National Mall in Washington DC, the entirely student designed home is as functional as it is chic.
The decathlon competition has brought four different colleges-DAAP, College of Business, College of Engineering and the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences-together as one team. "There are over 200 students involved in this project," says Degen. "The solar decathlon is a way to bridge these colleges and brings the curriculum and the interests from a diverse group of people together to work on one project."
Zimpher points out the value of learning from each other. "We are trying to be much more cross-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary and this is just a great example of how the disciplines can work effectively together." She refers to this as breaking down what she calls "academic silos." "I am absolutely confident that this will be a huge model for the rest of the campus and for others around the country."
Even the university's world-renowned co-op program is part of the project. Luke Fields and Eric Stear, architecture graduate students, are using the decathlon as paid co-ops for the US Department of Energy, allowing them to step outside the box of ordinary co-op work.
"I think in traditional co-op experiences, you get to be a part of a lot of different projects, but maybe not in charge of those projects and maybe you're not there long enough to see the product to its likely conclusion," Zimpher says. "There is a lot of pressure on the individual students to deliver and I think frankly our more traditional co-ops are a little more mentor oriented, so this is just a real trial by fire."
Maybe the most important point Zimpher makes is the value of this competition to the students. "Only 19 schools in the world are able to give this opportunity to their students," she says. She notes that since the solar houses will be displayed on the National Mall, the students and the university will gain valuable worldwide exposure.
Degen completely agrees. "This particular example is cool because it's getting a lot of PR," Degen says. "Every time we have good PR and coverage in the news, our industrial partners will start to see the University of Cincinnati is a good partner who can follow through on their commitments and does a good job."
While UC's participation in the Solar Decathlon thrusts students and faculty into the national spotlight, it is important not to forget the purpose of this project: increasing awareness of solar energy. "We have in mind not only displaying our house on the National Mall but hopefully the State House Lawn in Columbus and ultimately Fountain Square in Cincinnati, so that we raise awareness not only nationally but in our home state and city," Zimpher says. "I think that will really bring the whole sustainability to the forefront of people's thinking."
The house is being built right on UC's campus, allowing the community to follow its construction. "There's a lot of interest as people walk by," Zimpher says. "It's so wonderfully accessible to everybody and that just makes it really powerful."
The house will remain on campus until construction is complete in early October. More information about the decathlon can be found at www.solardecathlon.org or http://solar.uc.edu/solar2007/index. The official judging will be Oct. 17 and all of the houses will be on display in the "solar village" Oct. 12-20.
You can also check out UC's journalism program's work with the project, including photos, pod casts and features at http://ucsolardecathlon.blogspot.com.
