{"id":1650,"date":"2010-07-30T13:57:19","date_gmt":"2010-07-30T17:57:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/?p=1650"},"modified":"2012-03-14T15:03:07","modified_gmt":"2012-03-14T19:03:07","slug":"renewable-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/renewable-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Renewable Future"},"content":{"rendered":"

Renewable Future<\/a>
\nDickinson Website
\nBy MaryAlice Bitts
\nJuly 30, 2010<\/p>\n

\"solar-panel-donations\"
\nStudents work with donated solar panels during a hands-on lab at the Dickinson College Farm.<\/div>\n

Dickinson students\u00a0learn about\u00a0solar energy in\u00a0dynamic ways, thanks to engineering-sample solar panels donated through a BP Solar Module program for nonprofits and educational institutions.<\/p>\n

Since the first shipment of panels arrived on campus in 2006, students have worked on six solar-panel projects at the Dickinson College Farm and have constructed a panel stand\/charging station. And last year, one pioneering\u00a0scholar even created a solar-powered vehicle.<\/p>\n

Solar smoothie, anyone?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the Dickinson College Farm, environmental-science students have worked on systems to power the property’s yurts\u00a0and have observed the use of solar-panel laminates in a water-pump system.<\/p>\n

Another student group\u00a0designed, created and installed a mobile solar-demo kit. Dubbed Solar Steve, the kit was a popular draw at the college’s educational eco-fair, EarthFest. \u201cThe students\u00a0used it to power\u00a0a radio and a blender for solar smoothies,\u201d\u00a0explained Assistant Farm Manager Matt Steiman, who has led several solar-panel projects. \u201cIt was a big hit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last spring,\u00a0Steiman\u00a0held a photovoltaics (PV) lab at the farm for 75 students. Many of them\u00a0had no prior exposure to solar technology, but by the end of the lab, they understood\u00a0how\u00a0to take readings of open-circuit voltage and short-circuit currents. They also\u00a0could evaluate\u00a0how the amount of\u00a0sun exposure and the angle\u00a0of the sun\u00a0can affect production.<\/p>\n

Solar-panel technology has lit up on-campus classes, as well. Last year, students in a hands-on, project-centered physics course led by Hans Pfister, associate professor of physics, built a stand for a PV panel. When not used in a class, the panel is\u00a0repurposed as\u00a0a solar-charging station for\u00a0iPods, cell phones, laptops and other electronic devices.<\/p>\n

Sparking inspiration, passion<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of Pfister and Steiman\u2019s former students, Sam Wheeler \u201910,\u00a0took the student projects a step further. He used three panels to construct a solar-powered electric car, the Solar Wheeler<\/a>, as part of his summer internship last year.<\/p>\n

Wheeler, then a physics major and student-worker at the college\u2019s biodiesel plant, worked with Steiman to convert the former golf cart into a vehicle with a solar-paneled roof and a bank of rechargeable batteries. College Farm student-workers and staff use the vehicle to transport produce and equipment, as well as farm-tour visitors who are unable to walk the length of the property.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout the donation of the solar panels to the College Farm, the Solar Wheeler could not have been realized,\u201d said Wheeler, who is\u00a0pursuing a graduate degree at Lehigh University, where he is studying ways to use solar cells to efficiently split water and produce hydrogen gas. \u201cThe project further bolstered my decision to aspire for a career which engages the world through science.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Renewable Future Dickinson Website By MaryAlice Bitts July 30, 2010 Students work with donated solar panels during a hands-on lab at the Dickinson College Farm. Dickinson students\u00a0learn about\u00a0solar energy in\u00a0dynamic ways, thanks to engineering-sample solar panels donated through a BP… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1256,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44383],"tags":[44404,87452,22064],"class_list":["post-1650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press","tag-center-for-sustainability-education","tag-dickinson-college","tag-sustainable-agriculture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1256"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1650\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}