A team of students from the University of
Missouri-Rolla placed 11th overall in the Solar Decathlon, a student design
competition held Oct. 12-20 on the National Mall in Washington,
D.C.         

UMR team members constructed their 2007 solar
house, which was originally built at UMR and then shipped to Washington, on the
National Mall for the event. Twenty university teams entered houses, which were
judged in categories ranging from architecture to engineering to comfort. UMR
placed fourth in the market viability
category.         

Approximately 100,000 visitors toured the
homes during the 2007 Solar Decathlon, which was won by Germany’s Technische
Universitat
Darmstadt.         

More than 30 UMR students worked on the UMR
house for the past year. Six of them were in Washington for the duration of the
Solar Decathlon: Travis Brenneke, a sophomore in electrical engineering from
Wentzville, Mo.; Jacob Colbert, a junior in electrical engineering and civil
engineering from Frankford, Mo.; Samantha Markus, a junior in engineering
management from Fenton, Mo.; Michael Pyles, a sophomore in environmental
engineering from Kansas City, Mo.; Adam Smith, a sophomore in history from
Buffalo, Minn.; and Lucas Sudkamp, a junior in architectural engineering from
St. Louis.         

The UMR house is a “modern organic home
defined by sleek lines and open spaces," according to the team’s advisor,
Dr. Stuart Baur, an associate professor of civil, architectural and
environmental engineering. The house will be trucked back to Rolla and placed
on a permanent foundation in UMR’s Solar Village.

Two houses built for previous Solar Decathlons
have already found permanent homes in the village, which is on Tenth Street in
Rolla across from UMR’s Gale Bullman Multi-Purpose Center.