Pittsburgh Synergy Team

In September, Pittsburgh Synergy, a multi–disciplinary team of students from Pittsburgh, will head to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. for a “constructive demonstration” of solar energy in the second U. S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon competition.

The creation of Pittsburgh Synergy’s Solar Decathlon house fuses art and technology, collaboration on a multi-disciplinary basis, improving energy effectiveness and environmental responsibility, learning in hands-on fashion, and making an impact on local, regional, and global issues.

For the 2005 competition, DOE has selected a total of 19 collegiate teams, up from 14 in the 2002 competition, from across the United States, Europe and Canada. Carnegie Mellon, lead school of the Pittsburgh Synergy Team, is returning for its second competition and has expanded its team by assembling a multi-disciplinary group representing Pittsburgh’s excellent academic community as well as an international contingency.

Students from the Schools of Architecture and Design and the Carnegie Institute of Technology will be representing Carnegie Mellon. Regional partners include students from both the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Engineering and the Art Institute of Pittsburgh’s Departments of Interior Design and Industrial Design Technology. Students from the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany were design collaborators with Pittsburgh Synergy in summer 2004.

DOE sponsors the Solar Decathlon to educate consumers about solar energy and energy-efficient products that are or will be available in the future. By involving student teams, the DOE also hopes to “provide stimulus to the next generation of researchers, architects, engineers and builders as they prepare to begin their careers.” The Solar Decathlon enables student teams to participate in a global project and provides the opportunity for experiential education on many levels.

The Solar Decathlon is an unrivaled showcase for the student teams and their sponsors. The event draws extensive national media coverage throughout Washington DC and each university’s hometown. Coverage will be expanded this year to include additional media outlets in Canada and Europe.

The 2002 event drew over 150,000 visitors to the Solar Village, with waiting times as much as 30 minutes to tour the houses.

For sponsors and university students, this broad public awareness campaign is the ultimate platform in which to present concepts on the environment and energy and their applications to an extensive audience that includes government leaders and policy makers, representatives from the environmental, energy and building industries and most importantly the opportunity to interact with and receive feedback from the public.

For information on being involved with Pittsburgh Synergy and their entry in the Solar Decathlon, please contact Sue Tolmer, Assistant Director of Development for the College of Fine Arts at 412-268-6654 or stolmer@andrew.cmu.edu .

(contributed by the Green Building Alliance)

7/29/2005