2007 Solar Decathlon team recruits new members

By Johanna Mitchell

Santa Clara is one of 20 schools selected to compete in the fourth Solar Decathlon in fall 2009, according to James Bickford, the 2007 team's project manager.

In about two weeks, members of the 2007 team and their advisors from the department of engineering will hold an introductory meeting to recruit new members from a variety of majors to participate in the upcoming competition.

The Solar Decathlon is a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored competition in which students from selected schools across the globe design, build and operate solar-powered homes and perform judged tasks to test the home's efficiency and ability to perform energy-consuming activities.

The competition takes place every two years.

In 2007, Santa Clara's team took third place in the international competition, which pitted them against engineering powerhouses Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the first place winner, Technische Universitat Darmstadt from Germany.

Despite being labeled the underdog by the mainstream media, Santa Clara performed well in hot water production, appliances, communication and energy balance to overcome an early deficit.

As the only competitor without a school of architecture, Santa Clara struggled in the architecture and lighting tasks. They also faced several hardships along the way, including a total of seven broken semitrailer axles, three of which occurred on the journey home from Washington, D.C.

"A lot of things we learned the hard way, but a lot of things we had to learn the hard way," said Bickford, a senior mechanical engineering major.

Bickford said he hopes the new team can draw volunteers from a variety of majors to incorporate a more "diversified" team that would fill holes in areas such as marketing and economics.

Meanwhile, the 2007 Ripple Home sits in pieces atop a flatbed truck in the Loyola Hall parking lot, awaiting the last leg of its journey to its new home on campus.

The house will be reconstructed for the final time between the Bannan Engineering Building and the parking garage, on a site currently occupied by a cluster of portables.

This site was chosen strategically, said Bickford, as the home will become the centerpiece of a marketing strategy that aims to increase foot traffic through that area of campus.

Bickford likened the home to Kennedy Commons, hoping its role as an "interactive, user-friendly" education center will draw visitors interested in green building, solar power and sustainability.

The house will also be used as an experimentation lab, said Bickford.

Communication coordinator Meghan Mooney said the team hopes to complete the reconstruction of the home at the start of spring quarter on Founder's Day, on par with the opening date of the new campus library. However, that estimate is optimistic, she said, as student schedules will likely slow down the process.

When the majority of the 2007 Solar Decathlon team graduates in June, the management of the Ripple Home will be left in the hands of the engineering department and the new 2009 team.

Mooney, a junior and one of a handful of students who will be returning, described her role as that of a "bridge," using the experience she gained as part of the 2007 team to guide the 2009 team.

"I'm excited to see their enthusiasm, because that's the only thing that will get you through this competition -- boundless enthusiasm," said Mooney with a laugh.

The 2007 team lost several volunteers over the span of the project, which lasted roughly a year and a half, to high-paying internships and other opportunities and responsibilities.

When recruiting for the next squad, long-term commitment to the project will be emphasized, said Mooney.

"It's one thing to have an internship, and another thing to start a company all on your own, which is essentially what we did," said Bickford, adding that the field of solar energy is "exploding."

After graduation, Bickford and seven other team members will fly to India for over six months, during which time they will oversee the construction of a solar power plant they designed for their senior project, working with Applied Materials.

Many team members were offered jobs with PG&E, the Department of Energy, Google and venture capitalists based on their performance at the 2007 competition, said Bickford.

The 2009 team has already won a bid into the competition, but the hard work is just starting; the first in a string of deadlines is Aug. 1, when they will submit rough blueprints and launch their Web site.

A spring course in the department of engineering will allow team members to meet regularly and develop their new design, said Mooney, who added that she is excited to see what "fresh minds" will produce.

"I'd like to see them continue the path that we started, but definitely make it their own," said Bickford.

"And, of course," he said, "I'd like to see them win."

Contact Johanna Mitchell at (408) 554-4546 or jjmitchell@scu.edu.