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Saturday, October 20, 2007

Does Solar Decathlon Pedigree Prove Energy Engineering is a Real Discipline?

My Design News colleague, Sean Snyder, who writes our Spatial Engineering and Aesthetics blog, has been keeping a close eye on the Solar Decathlon. The Decathlon, which reached its conclusion this week, is a DOE-sponsored competitive event involving 20 university teams from around the world who design, build, and operate energy-efficient solar-powered houses that educate the public about sustainable living.

I recommend checking out Sean’s posts: “The 2007 Solar Decathlon Winners Are…” and “DOE: Solar Decathlon in DC”.

As an aside, I participated in MIT’s Solar 7 team during the short period of overlap between the team’s founding and completion of my degree (see: “Energy Blogger Joins Solar Decathlon Team”). Although MIT came out toward the bottom of the pack (13 out of 20), their team leader, Kurt Keville, had to overcome substantial internal barriers within the Institute to assure MIT fielded a Solar Decathlon entry. Plus, 2007 was MIT’s first year, and the learning curve in this competition is steep. That MIT had an entry at all this year is a testament to Mr. Keville’s persistence and dedication. The man is a hero.

In addition to drawing MIT as a participant this year, the Solar Decathlon attracted a pack of renewable-energy-emphasizing university programs of considerable stature and pedigree; among them: Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Penn State, University of Maryland, and UT Austin.

The growing popularity of Solar Decathlon and competitions like it underscores a new trend in America’s top universities. Organization of energy engineering departments, programs, and concentrations at our schools suggests that the field of energy is emerging as a unique academic discipline separate from the mechanical, petroleum, and systems engineering departments that classically housed energy programs.

However, I wonder whether this trend is genuine. Is it a knee-jerk reaction to the energy crisis over-hyped by the media? Is energy engineering a real discipline, or are all of these universities simply emphasizing energy to chase federal research dollars?

What do you think?

Related entries in: Design News | Electronics/Test |

(Add your comments)

at 10/24/2007 9:10:18 PM, Anonymous at MIT SD said:
Kurt Keville was definitely a hero for MIT's solar decathlon team. The man made many personal and financial sacrifices for the sake of solar education at MIT and in Boston. There are many unsung heros of the MIT team, including Corey Fucetola, a PhD student who acted as project manager, and many students from the Boston Architectural College who stepped in where MIT architects did not. A few key volunteer contractors were also critical to getting past talk, concepts and drawings. The core team consisted of maybe ten people, with a fluctuating crowd of helpers, but few. The project had little in funding and support, after the Architecture Department officially dropped out of the competition in Spring 2006. The team spent about 200K for a 300K house, where Darmstadt spent 1.4 million for a much cooler house, but not an economical one. The MIT team had no choice but to spend that little. Support from MIT in the form of financing, faculty and students was mediocre at best. MIT didn't score well primarily because the group wasn't representative of MIT, but rather a ragtag group of Bostonians determined not to let a dream die. We are proud of the house that was built.

at 10/26/2007 11:31:52 AM, John said:
I'm sorry to disagree so much, but if you really want to talk about a team that had the odds stacked against them, try looking at the Santa Clara team. 3 months late, no school of architecture, 3,200 miles away, a much smaller school, 3 graduate students, 4 broken axles. If SCU can do it, then MIT can as well.

at 11/1/2007 8:37:02 PM, Anonymous at MIT SD said:
First, Santa Clara did a great job and I commend them for a great showing. They did have solid support from their school and early support from Cal-Poly. The distance and break downs do make a difference, but there are a lot of issues that make your case a little weak. 1. MIT architecture officially declined to participate. 2. MIT didn't have a contract with DOE until 1 week before the competition... so you could say they got started with one week to go. Truly, the team decided to do it despite the lack of support in Winter 2007. 3. Having been there, I can tell you Santa Clara's team was many times the size of MIT's team, which had about 7-8 MIT students period, let alone any faculty. The help from local people and students from other universities who cared, especially BAC, made all the difference. 4. We had truck break downs too... nothing new at solar decathlon. Just to name a few of the issues. So, while I understand that it's fun to build up the underdog SCU, who did a great job, and take a shot at MIT, whose team had troubles, I think your arguments amount to potshots at a small team of Bostonians and not a criticism of MIT. MIT should have done better... but MIT didn't really participate as MIT.

at 11/1/2007 8:56:20 PM, Anonymous at MIT SD said:
btw, MIT does deserve criticism for not fielding a team representative of MIT, I won't argue with you there. I remain anonymous so that I can air grievances without compromising my ability to get MIT in the competition as a real competitor sometime in the future.

at 12/24/2007 3:32:30 AM, free mp3 said:
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