Forum for Science, Industry and Business

Ivy-Covered Walls Take on New Power from the Sun

The first location in the United States to apply this colorful array is the University of Utah (the U) in Salt Lake City. This new product called Solar Ivy was developed by Sustainably Minded Interactive Technology (SMIT), a company in New York.

Sustainably Minded Interactive Technologies
Drawings of the solar panels in a natural-looking "ivy-covered wall" arrangement.

The idea and most of the cash for the project comes from the U’s student-led Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund (SCIF), which is funded by student contributions. Each year, students compete for grants to finance projects that have a positive environmental impact and help educate the campus community about developing earth-conscious habits.

Bringing Solar Ivy to the U was spearheaded by Tom Melburn, an environmental studies major. His project was awarded a grant for roughly two-thirds of the $42,000 cost of the project. The remaining third will be raised from the campus community in a drive being announced today to generate funds and awareness of the many ‘green’ efforts taking place all over campus.

“Students are becoming so engaged in creating a sustainable campus that we could only partially fund all the projects submitted this year,” says Whitney Williams, SCIF coordinator. “So, we’re turning to others in our community to partner on this one. By buying a leaf on the array, donors will make possible not only a novel energy-saving device, but also a highly visible reminder on campus to conserve electricity.”

Donations to the project can be made online at http://tiny.utah.edu/solarivyUU.

Solar Ivy is a composition of small photovoltaic panels shaped so that they can be installed in an attractive arrangement, much like ivy growing over a building’s surface. The panels generate electricity that is used by the building, offsetting the amount of power the building buys from the utility company. Panels can be shaped and colored to suit the installation.

“We’re considering Orson Spencer Hall for the array because of its solar exposure and its visibility,” says Melburn, who is coordinating the project with campus facilities managers. “The south-facing brick façade receives high levels of unobstructed sun all year. Its location at the center of campus means high levels of traffic.” SCIF and Project Manager Archie Phillips also are considering the south façade of the Olpin Student Union building, which also receives significant solar exposure. The decision as to which building to use will be decided during the design phase of the project over the coming weeks.

The installation of the prefabricated panels is expected to begin late this fall and projected to take a few weeks to complete.

Whitney Williams, University of Utah Office of Sustainability, office 801-581-7510, whitney.williams@sustainability.utah.edu

Valoree Dowell, University of Utah Public Relations, office 801-585-6861, cell 801-403-3128, v.dowell@ucomm.utah.edu

Whitney Williams | Newswise Science News
Further information:
http://www.solarivy.com
http://www.sustainability.utah.edu/SCIF

Im Focus: BAM@Hannover Messe: innovative 3D printing method for space flight

At the Hannover Messe 2018, the Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und-prüfung (BAM) will show how, in the future, astronauts could produce their own tools or spare parts in zero gravity using 3D printing. This will reduce, weight and transport costs for space missions. Visitors can experience the innovative additive manufacturing process live at the fair.

Powder-based additive manufacturing in zero gravity is the name of the project in which a component is produced by applying metallic powder layers and then...

Im Focus: Molecules Brilliantly Illuminated

Physicists at the Laboratory for Attosecond Physics, which is jointly run by Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, have developed a high-power laser system that generates ultrashort pulses of light covering a large share of the mid-infrared spectrum. The researchers envisage a wide range of applications for the technology – in the early diagnosis of cancer, for instance.

Molecules are the building blocks of life. Like all other organisms, we are made of them. They control our biorhythm, and they can also reflect our state of...

Im Focus: Spider silk key to new bone-fixing composite

University of Connecticut researchers have created a biodegradable composite made of silk fibers that can be used to repair broken load-bearing bones without the complications sometimes presented by other materials.

Repairing major load-bearing bones such as those in the leg can be a long and uncomfortable process.

Im Focus: Writing and deleting magnets with lasers

Study published in the journal ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces is the outcome of an international effort that included teams from Dresden and Berlin in Germany, and the US.

Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) together with colleagues from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the University of Virginia...

Im Focus: Gamma-ray flashes from plasma filaments

Novel highly efficient and brilliant gamma-ray source: Based on model calculations, physicists of the Max PIanck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg propose a novel method for an efficient high-brilliance gamma-ray source. A giant collimated gamma-ray pulse is generated from the interaction of a dense ultra-relativistic electron beam with a thin solid conductor. Energetic gamma-rays are copiously produced as the electron beam splits into filaments while propagating across the conductor. The resulting gamma-ray energy and flux enable novel experiments in nuclear and fundamental physics.

The typical wavelength of light interacting with an object of the microcosm scales with the size of this object. For atoms, this ranges from visible light to...