The Virtual High School (VHS Inc.) in partnership with Concord Consortium and industry partners, presents The Solar Energy Design Challenge. Participants will model or design solar-powered systems and then submit their ideas for acceptance into the Virtual Solar Grid. The Solar Energy Design Challenge will run from June 1 through July 31, and all submissions to the virtual solar grid during this time will be evaluated for the challenge.
Contest participants will have unlimited, free use of Energy3D, a computer-aided design simulation tool, to model existing solar energy systems or design new ones.
A team of experts will evaluate the models and those models found to be scientifically accurate and environmentally appropriate will be admitted into the Virtual Solar Grid. Contestants may submit an unlimited number of models to the Virtual Solar Grid; in fact, the more models a contributor adds to the Virtual Solar Grid, the higher they will rise on the scoreboard.
The challenge is part of the Solarize Your World program, a research and education initiative created by the Concord Consortium, and industry partners to engage future engineers and STEM workforce in the effort to more effectively harness solar power.
The top models submitted between June 1 and July 31, as decided by a panel of expert judges, will receive cash prizes: $500 for first place, $200 for second place, and $100 for third place, along with a certificate of excellence provided by the organizers. Winners will be announced by Friday, August 31. For more information and to register for the challenge, visit http://vhslearning.org/solar-energy-design-challenge.
