Santa Clara University

It is cold and rainy in D.C. – not ideal conditions for generating solar power! The team is a little downhearted this morning watching our lead slip as homes with more PV are adding up points at a faster pace under these cloudy conditions. Prof. Tim Hight reports, “Realistically, given the weather conditions, it will be very difficult to maintain our lead, but we will keep fighting. It will be tough to overcome Germany’s advantage in power.” (Germany’s house is covered in PV, so it is able to maximize its capability to capture energy.) But then Dr. Hight adds with a shrug, “Stranger things have happened!” Kadee Mardula, SCU ’11, notes, “Our position all along has been that sustainability and ‘green’ living doesn’t have to involve compromise or sacrifice, so we designed Refract House to be energy efficient, but also beautiful and very livable.” It’s true; walking past all the homes on the National Mall yesterday, the Dean of Engineering Godfrey Mungal and I were blown away with how stunning Refract House is—photos and videos don’t do it justice!

Yesterday, the team spent the day sharing their message with Representatives from Congress Mike Honda, Zoe Lofgren, and Sam Farr (Monterey), and Senators Boxer and Feinstein. While a few of the students and faculty members had a great meeting with Sen. Feinstein, the others rode in a little underground train traveling between the Senate Office Building and the Capitol for a photo with Sen. Boxer in the President’s Room. Years ago, this elegant room was used for signing treaties—it was a privilege to be afforded this rare visit. The team also enjoyed a tour of the Capitol. While waiting for the tour to begin, Preet Anand (SCU ’10) conducted a live radio interview via cell phone—our students are ready at any moment to spread the word! The Capitol  tour included a short film about Congress, and I was struck by these words: “Answers in America come from not one voice, but many.” Isn’t that what the Solar Decathlon is all about? Our SCU students and faculty have joined their voices with those from California College of the Arts to form a partnership that has transformed both engineers and architects. As a team, they have joined their voices with those from 19 other colleges and universities gathered in Washington for this competition with the goal of changing how the world views and uses energy. Tomorrow, the final results will be announced and 20 teams will come away winners.