Folks! An international student solar design Competition has been announced by Dow Chemical for the fall of 2011. It's unique in that the prize winners will be determined by a peer-review process. Prizes range from $5000 to $20,000 USD.

Competitors will put their projects on Web sites for review by other contestants in a 3 phase jurying process. Contestants will be able to communicate with each other through the election ballots and via social media.

Think of it as a global brainstorming effort to find ideal solar/sustainable solutions for housing! The contest is designed to work with most university class schedules, so instructors may be able to incorporate it into their design studios.

Interested? Visit the competition Web site: www.dow.com/competition to get more details. You can sign up there for notifications. Official registration begins in August. Hope to see you then!

Ptr. Peter Anders