U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm came to the Depot Campus<\/a> to learn about UConn\u2019s leadership in clean energy research and application. \u00a0The new fuel cell is a prelude to more fuel cells that will be popping up around UConn\u2019s campuses over the next few years.<\/p>\n\u201cWe ran the contest to get designs to make something that really represents UConn\u2019s innovation and research in that field,\u201d Enea says.<\/p>\n
The winner of the wrap competition, John Leo \u201926 (ENG), was selected after a board identified the top four contestants based on their design concepts. The top two finalists had the opportunity to refine their design concepts with professional graphic designers in University Communications. All four finalists received a monetary award.<\/p>\n
During the first phase of the competition, Leo, who is majoring in computer science, worked independently.<\/p>\n
“I built a tree pattern and an electricity pattern out of basic shapes, using simple clipart as a reference,\u201d he says. \u201cI colored them, shaped them into backgrounds, and separated them with an awesome-looking realistic lightning bolt effect. Its color scheme makes it very clear that it’s related to clean energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once selected as a finalist, Leo partnered with Christine Ballestrini, associate director of branding and visual identity, and lead designer in University Communications. She helped Leo create the final design, which now adorns the fuel cell at the Depot Campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe helped me rework my draft from the ground up,\u201d Leo says. \u201cMy original electricity background leaned more towards the warm color spectrum; with her help it was decided to switch it to blue. She helped incorporate the paw print and earth logos from the side panels into the design. Special thanks goes to her for helping me out.\u201d<\/p>\n
UConn President Radenka Maric, who met with Granholm at the fuel cell event in August, says all the students involved, from the Clean Energy Society to the contest entrants, should be proud of their work.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am very impressed by the talent and creativity of the students who worked on this design project, and I am grateful to the Clean Energy Society for taking the lead on this effort,\u201d Maric says. \u201cAnyone looking at this fuel cell wrap will know that UConn is a place where the arts and sciences don\u2019t merely co-exist, but produce fruitful collaborations. I congratulate the winners of the competition, as well as all the students who created designs for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
UConn is committed to a carbon-neutral campus by 2030, and fuel cells are an effective way to help achieve carbon reduction goals.<\/p>\n
\u201cFuel cells are a major step forward in supplying lower emissions, reliable 24\/7 baseload power as we are preparing for the Hydrogen Economy,\u201d says Stan Nolan, UConn\u2019s Director of Utility Operations and Energy Management. \u201cUConn has a great strategic vision to further develop this technology through our research and on campus applications. Fuel cells have several advantages over battery technology such as higher power density, lower cycling and maintenance costs, no recharging time concerns, and flexibility for combined heat and power (CHP) configuration which can achieve up to 90% efficiency.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leo\u2019s winning design is now on permanent display as the wrap for the fuel cell, located at 44 Weaver Road on the Depot Campus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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