The Solar Decathlon Team

The University of Colorado 2007 Solar Decathlon team was housed in the College of Engineering and Applied Science on the Boulder campus and included undergraduate and graduate students from the colleges of engineering, architecture, business, and arts and sciences. While over 115 members of the university community subscribed to the team's email list server, there were 30-35 students who actively participate in team activities.

Our speakers were: Michael J. Brandemuehl, PhD, PE, Professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has been the faculty advisor for the 3 CU Solar Decathlon teams. We are flattered that he emerged from a well-earned sabbatical to join us. Chad Corbin was engineering project manager for the 2007 Decathlon; he is headed towards a PhD program. Kristin Field was project manager in 2005; she is a CU graduate student and Staff Engineer, Architectural Energy Corp., Boulder. Jack Baum was an electrician before he returned to CU; he managed the electrical systems for the 2007 house.

The team was organized into three main groups: architecture, engineering, and business. The architecture team was focused on the development of the house design. The engineering team was evaluating the energy performance of alternative design, exploring mechanical and electrical system alternatives, and developing detailed system design. Many on the engineering team work closely with the architecture team to inform the energy performance of the building design. The business team was engaged in fundraising, marketing, and communication, including the development of long-term business strategy.