Gifts That Impact
Gifts That Impact provides specific examples of how corporate and foundation support has assisted students, faculty, and staff at Penn State.
Gifts That Impact
Spring 2009
Penn State Housing a Greener Future
 Penn State won fourth place at the 2007 Solar Decathlon competition, which was held on the National Mall in Washington D.C. Penn State is one of 20 universities invited to compete in the 2009 international competition. |
In a time when environmental concerns are paramount, Penn State is taking a proactive approach by participating in the 2009 Solar Decathlon. This biennial international competition is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and challenges college and university students to design, build, and operate an entirely solar-powered home. It will take place on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in October 2009. Only 20 colleges and universities worldwide are invited to participate in this competition, and Penn State is the only participating school from Pennsylvania. In 2007, Penn State placed 4th overall with its MorningStar project. The University is hoping to build upon this success in the upcoming competition.
The team, consisting of over 100 students from various colleges within the University, is working together to plan, design, build, and raise the necessary funds for an 800 square foot solar-powered concept home over the course of a year. The students look at every aspect from structural design to power generation as well as market viability and cost feasibility. Working on the 2009 Natural Fusion project, students gain real-life work experience with interaction between disciplines, faculty, and industry.
The students are aided by the supervision of many distinguished members of Penn State faculty. Overseeing this project as the faculty director is Dr. Jeffrey Brownson, with the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences specializing in solar energy materials and systems. “Penn State is focused on sustainability, reduced demand for materials and energy, and researching new energy technologies,” said Dr. Brownson. “This event helps to bring many of our efforts in those fields to light.”
Kyle Macht has had plenty of experience with this project. Kyle, now in his 6th year of the integrated Bachelor/Master of Architectural Engineering program, is the team leader of the 2009 Natural Fusion project and was a member of the 2007 MorningStar project. When asked how this competition benefits the participating corporations, Macht said, “We are working with industry partners who are very intrigued by some of the ideas that we are coming up with and are looking to incorporate them into their (own) products and methods.”
One of the goals of the competition is to offer options to consumers that are both currently available and affordable. “The project emphasizes the triple bottom line of sustainability: people-planet-profit. Natural Fusion displays what is possible and sustainable with the tools we have today,” said Dr. Brownson. The correlation between these three components is the challenge: to find new ways to reduce energy demand and maximize solar energy usage with off-the-shelf products readily available and attractive to the consumer. Dr. Brownson stresses, “If you are a member of industry related in any way to the materials and systems that allow a home to function in comfort and reduced energy demand, you want to be a part of this event—especially considering the weakened housing market.”
Bayer MaterialScience LLC, one of the world’s largest producers of polymers and engineering plastics, is one of the project’s corporate donors. “We all benefit from working jointly on such a worthy project,” said Dr. Mark W. Witman, Director of Industry Innovations-Construction in Bayer's new business department. “Bayer is demonstrating to students how engineering polymers can be utilized to build net zero energy, zero emission solar homes, and we are learning from the students how new technologies can be imaginatively deployed in the design of the solar homes of the future.”
Bayer and Professional Building Systems (PBS), the construction company building the infrastructure of the Natural Fusion home, are working with the students to help integrate their products into the students’ designs and PBS’ modular home manufacturing process. The companies and the students “have developed a strong working relationship,” said Dr. Witman. “We are working together on a very worthwhile and important project that will help society better understand how innovative materials and solar home design concepts can be employed to mitigate the effects of climate change, perhaps the most pressing environmental challenge of today.”
Penn State is also expanding partnerships with other businesses, such as AT&T, Bechtel, Lockheed Martin, PPG, and Shell Oil Company. Corporate support and involvement in the development of the Natural Fusion design and competition strategies, as well as mentorship of project participants, supports both outstanding research and talented students.
Natural Fusion is more than just a student competition. It is a multidimensional project that offers opportunities for student learning, technological advancements, and industrial partnerships. While an estimate of over 250,000 people will cross the threshold of the Natural Fusion home in less than three weeks, the Department of Energy estimates that over one billion people worldwide will learn about the competition and its participants. Penn State’s presence in this competition will continue to strengthen its position as a leader in research on sustainability, reduced demand for materials and energy, and new energy technologies.
For more information on the projects highlighted in this article, please refer to the following Web sites:
- Penn State Solar Decathlon 2009 – Natural Fusion
- Penn State Solar Decathlon 2007 – MorningStar
- U. S. Department of Energy – Solar Decathlon
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