August 2009 Outreach

August 7-9, 2009 Educational Outreach

The Nebraska Solar Energy Society co-hosted a training in Photovoltaic Panel making with the Peter Kiewit Institute, at 1110 S. 67th St., August 8-9, 2009. There were 24 people at the training.

During the workshop three 60W PV panels, two 6-V cell phone chargers, and hands-on practice building frames, cutting and soldering cells into strips was accomplished. The Sunday morning lecture provided an opportunity for several attending electrical engineers to ask questions surrounding panel design and installation. The workshop was highly successful, and with a second order of solar cells pending. Dennis Deyen (CEENBoT, Inc. CTO), James Devaney (Graduate student with Dr. Chen), and a highly skilled NSES member, Tony Orlando Parker (www.firstontop.com) attended the training, and will facilitate the training in November. We are planning an third training in February of 2010, where a number of workshop stipends will be offered as part of a raffle during the January 30, 2010, CEENBoT Robotics Competition at the Strategic Air and Space Museum. The educational outreach for the NSES is developing nicely, and we will be able to share some of the information learned with Dr. Komp's August visit with the schools this spring.

A general public outreach was held at the City Sprouts House, at 4002 Seward St, on Thursday, August 7th. Approximately 15 children and 20 adults attended the training. The demonstration on how to make a solar cell from blackberry juice extract was successfully demonstrated twice, and a long discussion on net metering, policy in NE and future prospects closed the event. It was a very informative evening. Audience feedback was very highly rated, and this is one of the most successful public outreaches we have had with the work we have done with Dr. Komp to date. The basic premise behind this solar cell is at the base of some leading thin film studies in solar panels, so it will be a great unit for future education.

The NSES and PKI express their sincere gratitude to the NASA Nebraska Space Grant for funding the travel expenses of Dr. Komp for the August training. Things happened quickly over the weekend, and it is regrettable that there are no group photos or public outreach photos to submit at this time. There are a lot from the workshop, and after the Oct. 3rd solar tour we will work to put a photo album together for a fun look at the workshop as it unfolded.

There was a lot of laughter and lively conversation throughout Dr. Komp's visit, and we have some great components for the future development of the K-12 energy education program for Nebraska.

Visit the following link for a full listing of Dr. Komp’s resume.