Alternative Energy Challenge

Alternative Energy Challenge

Chairs:  Manav Mandhani and Danilo Pena   ||   aec@sec.engr.utexas.edu

Overview

The Alternative Energy Challenge is an annual competition hosted by the Student Engineering Council of The University of Texas at Austin. The intent of the competition is for students to create novel ideas for the generation of power using sustainable and renewable methods.

In the first phase of the competition, the teams submitted a written report detailing their design and the logistics involved in producing it; in the second, teams gave a formal presentation of their idea to a panel of judges. The top three teams were granted a $1000 budget to actually create their device and present it in the final round before another panel of judges.

The competition is run entirely by students for students to not only foster innovation in the field of alternative energy but to give competitors the opportunity to gain practical experience in product research and development. As it enters its third year, the Alternative Energy Challenge will continue to attract motivated engineering students with a passion for alternative energy.

 

2011 Conclusion

Congratulations to the three final competing teams! They each created innovative devices and delivered great presentations to our panel of faculty judges.

 

1st Place: Wind Power

Lead: Guillermo Hernandez

Members: Kevin Blake Perez, Nicholas Phillips

Description: Wind turbine generator that powers handheld devices, designed to collapse into a single portable tube. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wazMXcfiVNU&feature=context-cha

Award: $1000 to team and a $500 bonus to their organization, ESW

 

 

2nd Place: Solar powered three phase motor drive


Members: Daniel Gomez, Travis Havins, Meagan Heeren, Tristan Jesse, Scott Natelli

Award: $500 to the team!

 

 

3rd Place: Gray Water Power

Members: Everett Sheble, Joshua Juarez, Kin Peng, Gareth Mok, Kristen Pearson

 

Faculty Thanks

We would like to thank our three faculty judges for donating their time to the AEC! They are:

Dr. Lance Manuel - Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering

Dr. Matthew Hall - Department of Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Kristin Wood - Department of Mechanical Engineering

 

Corporate Support

The 2012 Student Engineering Council Alternative Energy Challenge is generously supported by

Harutunian Engineering, Inc.
Bayer MaterialScience, LLC