Team receives honorable mention at sustainable design expo

Team receives honorable mention at sustainable design expo

A team of Penn State engineering students received an honorable mention at the recent National Sustainable Design Expo in Washington, D.C.

The students were competing in the Environmental Protection Agency's P3: People, Prosperity and the Planet Student Design Competition for Sustainability.

The team's project, "Design of an Engine Generator for the Rural Poor: A Sustainable Systems Approach," focused on developing a business venture to produce electricity for rural subsistence farmers in Kenya. The system uses canola seed oil, grown by local farmers, as the feedstock for production of biodiesel. The fuel is then combusted to produce steam that powers a low-cost steam engine generator that provides electricity.

Thomas Colledge, assistant professor of engineering design, served as one of the team's faculty advisers.

Forty-one teams from across the country brought their designs, prototypes and other exhibition materials to the National Mall in hopes of receiving Phase II funding for their projects.

The P3 Award competition began with the receipt of Phase I grants for each team at the start of the academic year.

A second team from Penn State Mont Alto also participated in the competition.