California State University, Northridge
IN-2: Innovation 2

This was a student-conceived, student designed and student-executed project carried out under the mentorship of a faculty member. A primary objective of the project was to engage students in a challenging engineering design project that would be relevant and useful while helping them learn clean energy technologies. A second goal was to provide students with experience in working in a team setting, in this case a team of 19 students, to help them build important team skills including planning, project management, collaboration and communication. The student team was responsible for all aspects of the project including the procurement of materials within a very limited budget ($1,000), design and fabrication of the mechanical structure, structural integrity, modeling and testing of the structure in simulated environmental conditions, design and construction of electrical components, technical documentation and final presentation. Students learned to communicate with external parties and be responsible for securing the mechanical and electrical components, including solar panels, within budget. The final design is an elegant, robust and highly functional charging tree, where the campus community can readily charge their cell phones, laptops and tablets. It utilizes a 100W solar panel, a 12V battery, a charge controller and a 400W inverter to provide power both day and night. The tree has four hubs each with three different types of cell phone charge adapters in addition to eight 120V wall outlets.

Positive measurable outcomes include energy savings through the creation of this new solar powered charging station. Along with this energy savings students also are exposed to new technologies, applications and ultimately build skills for the green job market.