Politically Correct

You would think that an innovation that would want to help both the environment and the user would be an idea that would sell right off the shelves. But Scott Brusaw, the owner and co-creator of Solar Roadways, is having a very difficult time getting his idea off the ground. All over you can read articles that question and doubt the effectiveness these solar panels would have on our society. Stephen Lacey, a writer for the Greentech Solar website, wrote an article about Brusaw's idea titled 'Would Solar Roadways Work? A Government Engineer Discusses the Controversial Technology.' In this article, Lacey first starts off with the grants that Solar Roadways received. They first got a a $100,000 grant from the Department of Transportation in 2009, but that was just for research. Brusaw then asked if instead they could build a prototype of his idea with the money, which of course came back with positive confirmation (Lacey, 2014). 

With an award from GE that granted them another $50,000 in 2010 the company would soon be on its way to being able to produce more advanced prototypes for them to be able to put on showcases and develop their ideas into reality. But more of these nay saying articles came out. Lacey continues to say how Eric Weaver, an engineer at the Federal Highway Administration's research team, thinks the idea is "not very realistic to cover the entire highway system with these panels (Lacey, 2014)." I completely agree, but what I want people to take away from a man trying new ideas is what Weaver later said which is, "If you don't reach for something, you'll never get there. Just the effort of doing something new creates byproducts." If the big companies keep putting down big ideas are probably not fully developed yet, then we would never have come up with some of the products we use today. For instance, when Alexander Graham Bell was in the process of creating the telephone, he had many investors but not that many people and scientist supported his idea because they thought it was impractical. Well wouldn't  you know it, we all now have wireless cellphones that evolved from Bell's original idea. He never gave up and then created one of the greatest innovations of the 19 century (Lacey, 2014). 

Many engineers start out with a small idea that they then get to build and add on to. The final product will never be what they prototype was simply because you can always make something better. I believe that the politics in the engineering world by the use of these articles are holding back a lot of people from believing in what these solar roadways can really do. If we all want to help better our environment and better ourselves, then we need to take chances in some cases. These panels could be the way of the future, but there hasn't been enough time, money, or effort put into it yet to be able to be implemented all over the country. That's why I believe big time companies, businesses, and college institutions should help in the research and funding, because who knows what could happen if we all work together.

Resources:

Would Solar Roadways Work? A Government Engineer Discusses the Controversial Technology:
Greentech Media. (2014, August 29). Retrieved November 26, 2014, from http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Department-of-Transportation-Official-Discusses-Solar-Roadways

Dumb Americans

There are a lot of critics out there that believe that these solar roadways are not very practical. For instance a man named Craig Morris says that this idea is "going nowhere, and no one is going anywhere on 'solar roadways'." This is a very bold statement to make, I mean there is still a possibility that we can implement these panels in other aspects. Morris claims that he had heard this idea in previous attempts when they wanted to try to send solar panels in space so there would be no interference from the sun. This idea was put to rest when Morris made a point of explaining the cost of a "single kilogram into orbit," which was not a good result (Sinclair, 2014).

Morris is not convinced this idea could work at all. He goes on to insult the inventors of solar roadways saying "...the makers of Solar Roadways don't know the first thing about solar or roadways." Very broad and most likely untrue statement considering they have actually made these panels work and use them at their own personal home. But he then says, "...the surface on which we are apparently not only to drive and park our cars, but also dribble," in an effort to exclaim that he could look at the surface that covers the panels and 'twist his ankle.' Yes,  the surface is made of glass, but it is a textured, tempered, and sturdy covering. It also allows for the solar energy to be transmitted to the electrical storage unit. I really don't see a big problem with this especially since its been tested and proven safe (Sinclair, 2014).

Later on in the article Morris then lists some of the other issues that he has with these panels which includes:

• Only Americans would fund an idea like this, they obviously forgot about shade.
• Roads serve a purpose, and are designed to be quiet.
• We already have field open that are being used for solar panel energy.

I don't know about you but that kind of makes me mad. The inventors are trying to be innovative and put something to good use, while these people like Morris just look for ways to shoot them down. Yes, using these solar roadways on actual roads could be a disaster on a number of points, but what about sidewalks? We would all just be walking or biking along them, why not make it so that we can walk on them and have the sun still gathering the energy provided by the sun? I think that if we implemented them on open bike paths and walkways or even shoulders of highways we can be doing our environment a good deal of service. The idea really does have a fighting chance to be implemented across our country, we just haven't found it yet (Sinclair, 2014).

With people like Morris demeaning an idea such as this, will surely make sure that the idea goes nowhere. If there are people out there that are excited about solar roadways and work really hard to be creative and implement them in other ways than just one, then who knows what could happen! I know that I will do what I can to see that George Mason lets me experiment with this idea and that I can prove my case to them. 

Resources:

Sinclair, P. (2014, June 7). Solar Freaking Roadways Video Goes Viral, But Will Real Solar Roadways Go Anywhere? Retrieved November 24, 2014, from http://climatecrocks.com/2014/06/07/solar-freakin-roadways-video-goes-viral-but-will-real-solar-roadways-go-anywhere/He ha

Scott Brusaw: Solar Roadways

Two researchers that made a recent impact in the electrical engineering world are Julie and Scott Brusaw. This couple are the co-inventors and co-founders of the Solar Roadways Company that I am writing my blog about. Scott is the electrical engineer whereas his wife has a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology (2014). Together, this couple that has known each other since they were toddlers, helped innovate one of the greatest technologies that I have seen in the 21^st century.

Let us focus more on Scott. He has over twenty years of electrical engineering experience. He served as the Director of Research and Development, he is a voting member of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, and is currently developing control systems from the very beginning. Before that, Scott joined the Marines in the mid-seventies (2014). After he served his four years in the armed forces, Scott began to work in the oil industry. He joined a team that was in the exploration of oil for the United States. He drilled for oil in Nevada, Louisiana, Texas and Illinois. In the mid-eighties, Scott decided that he would take the college route. He was tired of laying shoving pipes through the earth and didn’t want to go back into the military. He started off and got his Associate of Science degree in general studies at Sinclair Community College. He then transferred to the University of Dayton and pursued his degree in electrical engineering. Six days before Scott graduated he had his first electrical engineering job.

Despite what his professors and counselors had said, Scott went and worked at a local manufacturing company. He ended up being the first engineer that the company had hired, which meant that there was nothing that he could learn from (2014). This lead Scott to learn everything he needed to on his own. He had to learn all of the software, the machines, and the programming all on his own. He even got to converse with Bill Gates when the company was swapping their DOS systems to Windows 3.1 (2014). Windows 3.1 seems like it would be ancient and the slowest operating system known to man compared to what we are used to in this day and age (2014). From being the only electrical engineer, Scott acquired valuable knowledge for his field of study. He served on the Board of Directors, from which he made decisions to help bring in new technology like microprocessors, digital systems, analog systems, solar energy, wireless communication… the list goes on and on. In 1994 Scott finally got his Master’s in electrical engineering from the University of Dayton.

After his years in the manufacturing business, Scott decided he wanted to teach. He began teaching electronics and microprocessors at a technical college. From there he then got a job working on automated water meters. This then lead to him creating his own workshop at his home. This is where all of the magic happened (2014). With his wife, Scott would brainstorm ideas of how to create or innovate a new idea that everyone can use to “make the world a better place.” From there sprung the idea of the solar panel roadways. These solar panels have been in pretty much every tech magazine in the United States. This idea could revolutionize how we use the sun in our everyday lives. Until the technology reaches the right investor, it will only remain a great idea.

Resources:

Brusaw, S. (2014, January 1). Solar Roadways - A Real Solution. Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http://www.solarroadways.com/main.html

Roadblocks

So like any great innovation there are always some sort of drawbacks. For cell phones its battery life and signal strength, for cars its gas mileage, for solar panels its the storage space. After the solar panels collect energy and convert it to electricity, their needs to be a holding cell for this energy. These holding cells are what we refer to as solar cells. The biggest issue that engineers run into is the material that these solar cells are made out of. In the past, there have been catastrophic meltdowns because the material the cells were made out of were not able to remain in a steady state. An article from the Science Daily website titled, "New materials for more powerful solar cells" claim that if you line these solar cells with "a thin film of metallic oxide" you can increase the performance of the solar panel cells. This practice was discovered by Professor Federico Rosei at the Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications Research Centre at Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS). This new material is a mix between bismuth, iron, chromium, and oxygen (INRS, 2014).

Now these solar cells really are not that complicated. When sunlight hits off of the negative electrode (which is the part that absorbs the solar energy), the energy is then transformed from solar to electrical energy by the two types of semi conductors that separate the ions from positive to negative. Then the two plates are given wires or a path way out so that electric current can flow from the semiconducting plates out to the intended recipient. What Professor Rosei wants to do is cover the semiconductors with a thin film of this new material. With the material applies, more energy will be able to be stored with an increase in efficiency and a decreased chance for catastrophic failure. This will also be able to lessen the amount of space needed to store this energy. On a large scale, these solar cells can become massive, but if the technology exists to store more with less, then we are one step closer to making this idea a reality for all to enjoy.

At George Mason University, the faculty and staff are always lo;king for new was to bring innovation to campus. One way that I came up with are these solar panels. If we implemented these panels on our sidewalks, we can make this a much safer campus. In the winter the heated panels will decrease the need for shoveling snow and will not allow for ice to set in. At night the sidewalks would be lit so that you can see where you are going and not have to worry about where you should walk. And instead of having those large inconvenient poles, all you would need is the walkway. With this technology of creating smaller more efficient solar cells, we will soon be able to bring these panels to George Mason. Not only will it be cleaner, but it will more cost effective. The LED lit panels will be run from the energy stored over the course of time. Every sidewalk and walkway will be converted so that there is maximum coverage and more energy can be stored. This idea is only a few years away from being one of the best innovations of the 21st century.

Resources:

INRS. (2014, November 12). New materials for more powerful solar cells.ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 16, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141112093150.htm

Brusaw, S. (2014, January 1). Introduction to Solar Panel Roadways. Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://www.solarroadways.com/intro.shtml

"Paving" the Way of the Future.

Let me ask you a question, when was the last time you saw a Toyota Prius or a Honda Insight? A recycled coffee cup? A Camelbak water bottle? These are all different technologies that have risen in the last decade or so to help combat the over usage of our natural resources. The Prius and the Insight are hybrid vehicles that use less natural gas. The recycled coffee cup is made of recycled paper so we use less machinery and trees to make more cups. The Camelbak water bottle is used so that people will stop buying bottled water and wasting the plastic of the bottles by just throwing them away, not to mention that its cheaper to fill up your water bottle at a fountain or in the sink. These things are being used everyday by millions of people all over the United States. What else can we do that might create a trend?

Well lets start with something that everybody uses. We all use the sun, we all use the air, we all use some sort of sustenance. Since we have food and air down for the most part lets look at the sun. The sun is one of our biggest proponents for life here on this planet. It generates energy and gives life to a lot of the plants and animals here on Earth. One of the many tricks it has is that even though it is trillions of miles away, it can still project its heat energy to us. What if we could harness that energy? What would we be able to do? The amount of money that we could save would be off the charts. Sure we already have windmills and water turbines that generate energy from the currents and breezes. We also have chemical energy plants that generate energy from toxic chemicals substances. All of these methods have one thing in common. It takes energy to make energy. With solar energy, there are no moving parts! It is just a panel that collects energy from sunlight naturally gleaming on its panels! It doesn't get much simpler than that. Now how can we make it even easier? Well thanks to some very creative and innovative people, we have these things called solar panels that convert this solar energy into electrical energy in a realistic way.

A couple that took this idea one step further go by the names of Scott and Julie Brusaw when they came up with the idea of solar panel roadways. Here at their website http://www.solarroadways.com/intro.shtml they go over every aspect of their idea. Every prototype, every accident, and all the future projects are on here. This website is the basis for everything that I want to do from here on out. These people have come up with a brilliant idea of replacing the asphalt roadways that need constant repair and are a huge hazard to the environment, with the more efficient and versatile solar panel roadways. In the coming weeks I will go into more depth of how I want to be involved and how I want to bring this idea to George Mason University!

Resources:

Brusaw, S. (2014, January 1). Introduction to Solar Panel Roadways. Retrieved November 16, 2014, from http://www.solarroadways.com/intro.shtml