Solar Decathlon Students Gear up for a Bright Year Doing More Than Building a Solar House
Marika E. Krause
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sep. 19, 2012- For the Santa Clara University 2013 Solar Decathlon team, the challenge of building a solar house is testing more than just design and engineering skills. The U.S. Department of Energy’s biennial competition is putting the students in many roles they have never explored.
“We really are like a startup company,” says Project Manager Jake Gallau, ’13. “Everyone has to wear many hats on this team. The person in charge of our plumbing is an economics major and our public relations team mostly consists of engineers. We’re all learning skills completely out of our realm.”
For the first time, the team is also getting help from SCU business students through several classes. Marketing Professor of Practice Charles Byers is having students in two of his classes create comprehensive marketing plans for the team.
“I think it's very insightful that the DOE sees marketing as an important component in the discussion of solar energy and put a marketing component in the competition,” says Byers. “This will give students a real-world experience by treating the team as a client and creating marketing plans that will see the light of day. The goal is to give the team some great ideas to pick and choose from in addition to a platform to recruit a fresh batch of volunteers.”
Students in any course of study can work on SCU’s solar house project. More than 200 students are involved right now. This summer, a core group refined their construction skills by volunteering with Habitat for Humanity. The students also met with members of the 2007 and 2009 teams and have strong support from Bronco alumni who participated in the Solar Decathlon.
“A lesson we have learned is that having an outside space that is a part of the house is a big plus,” says Jay Dubashi, ’15. “The back deck in the 2009 house was a hit, and for 2013 we are going to try and go even further with that and really integrate the outside spaces.”
The nearly-finalized design plans are due to the Department of Energy in October. The students plan to release the house name in the weeks to come, but are keeping much of their design plan under wraps. They do share that this year the focus is on affordability and accessibility. It may be the experience and skills gained outside their areas of expertise that will prove to be the real payoff.
“We have people to cover every aspect of the competition, and I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” says Gallau. “I encourage anyone motivated to try something new and gain leadership skills in the process to join the team.”
About Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 8,800 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, theology, and engineering, plus master’s and law degrees and engineering Ph.D.s. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.
Media Contact
Marika E. Krause | mekrause@scu.edu | 408-554-5126 O | 408-829-4836 C
Sep 19, 2012