Today went exactly as Team PrISUm had planned for the second day of the American Solar Challenge. Iowa State’s solar car Phaeton raced more than 180 miles from its overnight stay in Decatur, Texas, and passed Principia College to take third upon arriving at the first stage stop in Norman, Oklahoma. Now Phaeton is closing …Continue reading “Team PrISUm strategizes to take first in the American Solar Challenge”
Hot, sunny weather and a problem free drive gave Iowa State’s solar car Phaeton a strong head start on the first day of the cross-country American Solar Challenge (ASC). Team PrISUm – the Iowa State students who design and build cars that run off the power of the sun – placed fourth at the ASC …Continue reading “Team PrISUm charges through sunny weather, places fourth on first day of American Solar Challenge”
by Thane Himes Subhadarshi Sarkar, grad student in electrical engineering, was awarded first prize at the 2012 IEEE PES General Meeting Student Poster Contest in July for his presentation on optimal renewable energy. Sarkar presented his poster to judges, professors, students, and professionals at the general meeting. The next day, he found out that he …Continue reading “ECpE grad student wins IEEE poster contest”
Vikram Dalal’s solar cell research continues to turn heads. Dalal, Thomas M. Whitney Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, was awarded the 2012 IBM Faculty Award, his second in as many years. Much of the $38,000 award will go toward building a new deposition system for the solar research teams. “This award will go a …Continue reading “ECpE’s Dalal Receives IBM Faculty Award”
Integrating computational thinking with experimental analysis in renewable energy research, Baskar Ganapathysubramanian, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is focused on designing better organic solar cells. The computational tools he is developing will help classify and characterize the way the plastic thin film cells respond to different conditions and configurations. He explains that doing this work …Continue reading “A computational approach to improving organic solar cells”
The search for eco-friendly energy sources is a worldwide affair, and researchers are drawing closer to new innovations every day. Among this group of determined professionals is Vikram Dalal, Thomas M. Whitney Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Dalal, who is working to advance solar energy, recently received the 2011 IBM Faculty Award. He has …Continue reading “Dalal receives IBM faculty award”
An engineering professor’s plan to introduce ferroelectrics into the organic layers used to fabricate polymer solar cells may be the ingredient that could make the technology available to consumers in the very near future. Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Sumit Chaudhary says ferroelectric materials, which act like dipoles with a positive and negative …Continue reading “Chaudhary’s quest to improve organic solar cell efficiency gains traction with new approach and funding”
Ames, Iowa – Vikram Dalal, Thomas M. Whitney Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) for his pioneering applied research in physics of thin-film photovoltaic materials and devices and for inventing industrially important photovoltaic devices. Being elected a fellow is a distinguished honor signifying recognition …Continue reading “Dalal elected American Physical Society fellow”
Researchers from Iowa State University and the Ames Laboratory have developed a process capable of producing a thin and uniform light-absorbing layer on textured substrates that improves the efficiency of polymer solar cells by increasing light absorption. “Our technology efficiently utilizes the light trapping scheme,” said Sumit Chaudhary, an Iowa State assistant professor of electrical …Continue reading “Chaudhary fabricates more efficient polymer solar cells”
While on travel in California, I drove past a car dealership with signage advertising a solar powered station for recharging the batteries of electric cars. Parked in the dealer’s lot was a trailer unit that evidently could be moved from location to location and contained the recharging equipment. The trailer held a large flat panel …Continue reading “Sustainable expectations”
Move over, Bruce Willis: Bong Wie and colleagues are building tools to protect the planet from rogue asteroids
Interlock House, the Iowa State entry into the Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon, made quite a name for itself while on display in Washington, D. C. this past year. Chosen as one of only twenty entries worldwide, Interlock House ended the competition with a twelfth-place finish, one the Iowa State team is very proud of, especially …Continue reading “Iowa State’s Solar Decathlon House—The Year in Review”
The U.S. Department of Energy, sponsors of the 2009 Solar Decathlon taking place this week in Washington, D.C., lists the Interlock House as “designed specifically to appeal to seniors and meets all regulations for accessibility under the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act.”
Now you see it, but soon you won’t. At least, not in Iowa. Interlock House, designed by the Iowa State University Solar Decathlon Team, was on display for local media for one final time before its deconstruction. That process begins during the week of September 14. After that, the house won’t be a house again …Continue reading “Solar Decathlon student team prepares Iowa State’s solar house for a road trip”
AMES, Iowa — After 18 months of hard work, Iowa State University’s Solar Decathletes are ready to show off their achievement: the solar-powered Interlock House, which they designed and built for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C., in October. The team will host an open house for the public from 2 …Continue reading “Tour solar house designed and built by ISU students on Aug. 29”
