Carnegie Mellon University
November 13, 2017

CMU Students, Alumni Present Innovative Energy Solutions at MIT Hackathon

At the 3rd Annual MIT Energy Hackathon, 17 Carnegie Mellon University students and two alumni presented novel solutions to energy challenges that society faces daily. 

The Hackathon, hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from Nov. 3-6, offers monetary prizes to students who get the opportunity to learn and understand real-world challenges, generate ideas and network with other students and companies.

Nine notable companies including Shell discussed the issues they were seeking solutions for. Shell needed to identify commercial customers to target for solar panels and energy storage solutions. Most of the Carnegie Mellon students were tasked with analyzing the customer’s energy loads and finding the ideal size for solar panels, as well as other technologies the customers should use. 

“We sized the solar panels and storage systems so that the customers would be able to see savings in their electricity bills in the long run,” said Ashwin Balaji, a master’s student in the Energy Science, Technology and Policy (EST&P) Program.

Read more about this competition.