Thermeleon, a team of current graduate students and recent alums, took first place in last night’s MADMEC finals. The team has developed a color-changing roof tile that is white to reflect sunlight when the outside temperature is warm, and dark to absorb hear when the weather is cold. The MIT News Office has published a story on their work.

Nick Orf PhD ’09 demonstrates a prototype Thermeleon roof tile, using a heat gun to warm part of it. The heated area turns from black to white. Credits - Patrick Gillooly

The second-place winner was Team Biomethane’s plunging-jet biomethane purification system. Their design for a 4-foot tall tank, made of standardized parts, has the same capacity as the 18-foot tall tanks in current use.

DMMD took third place. Drawing their inspiration from research on the Namib Desert beetle, the team uses hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials to create a desalination method that is solar-driven.

MADMEC, the Making and Designing Materials Engineering Contest, is a joint venture between DMSE, Saint Gobain, and the Dow Chemical Company. MADMEC challenges teams of students to design and build prototypes that address a variety of energy issues through the use of materials science. MADMEC’s goal is to empower MIT students to shape the future of energy, while giving them an opportunity to practice and develop their creative design and engineering skills.

Five teams will present their final prototypes on Wednesday, Oct. 7, at 7:00 p.m., in 6-120.

This year’s competition showcases intriguing and creative solutions to energy challenges, from color-changing roofing tiles that reflect light in the summer and absorb heat in the winter to desalination methods.

A prize of $5000 will be awarded to the first place team, and prizes of $3000 and $2000 to the second and third place teams.

All are invited to see the presentations, share some ice cream, and applaud the winners!

The MADMEC Semi-Finals will be  Thursday, August 27, in room 6-104, the Chipman Room, at 6 p.m.

Each team will present their progress to date.

6:00 — Introduction
6:10 — Biomethane
6:25 — DMMD
6:40 — EnviroMent
6:55 — Intelux
7:10 — rEvolvEng
7:25 — Thermeleon
7:45 — Closing

Learn more about the teams and their projects.

Congratulations to the Course III student teams members of SunPoint and Levant Power who have advanced to the Grand Prize judging which will take place May 12, 2009 at 2:00pm at the Wong Auditorium, E51.

SunPoint:
Forrest Liau
Vyom Sharma
George Whitfield

Levant Power:
Shakeel Avadhany
Vladimir Tarasov

Both teams got started through MADMEC I (2007) and MADMEC II (2008) as and CurieBrothers (now Levant Power) and Heliotrope (now SunPoint), respectively.

In order to help students organize their MADMEC teams and projects, a DESIGN REVIEW will be held April 30 from noon to 2 pm. This will be an informal event, not a way to qualify or disqualify teams from the competition, but rather a way for them to get very early feedback on ideas and strengthen projects for the MAY 15 application deadline.

Here’s how the review will work:

A. Teams will email Mike Tarkanian a 1 page MAX summary of their project by 5 pm April 29.
B. Teams will have 5 minutes to present 4 slides to a panel of staff and professors. Slides must be:
1. MADMEC Problem and Solution
2. Prototype Design and Materials Science Aspects
3. Fabrication Plans/Challenges
4. Gantt Chart/Project Schedule
C. The 5 minute presentation will be followed by a 10 minute Q&A and feedback

These sessions will be private. Only 1 member of eachteam needs to be there — and if interested students don’t have a team yet, it might be a good time for to suggest possible teammates and resources.

Please let Mikeknow ASAP if planning to participate on April 30, and which time slot is convenient from noon to 2 pm (at 15 minute intervals).If this day is inconvenient, contact Mike to set up an alternative.