IIT Students to Compete in NECA National Green Energy Challenge

This October 3, five IIT students will travel to San Francisco, CA to participate in the National Electrical Contractors’ Association (NECA) Green Energy Challenge at NECA’s Annual National Convention. IIT’s team of students won third place in NECA’s Green Energy Challenge in Chicago this spring for their work on an IIT Interprofessional Project (IPRO), guided by INTM Adjunct Professor Dr. Dan Tomal. Their project titled “Developing Insights into IIT Electrical & Utility Vault Design, Water Leakage and Corrosion to Improve Energy Efficiency and Reduce Cost”, centered on aging and energy inefficient utility vaults on IIT’s Main Campus in Chicago. They worked with the IIT Office of Campus Energy & Sustainability (OCES) and Consumer Power & Light to conduct energy/utility audits and propose creative, environmentally conscious and economically viable options for design and maintenance issues.

Dr. Tomal’s IPROs are open to INTM students, as well as those studying a range of engineering disciplines at IIT. Two IIT team members are INTM students and IBEW Local 134 members, Tim J. Tyrrell and Samuel Valtierrez. The others are Dan Wente, Bianca Panczak, and Alex Wall.

The IIT NECA Student Chapter Green Energy Challenge team will make a 15-minute oral presentation of their project to a jury of electrical industry partners, and display a poster during the NECA Convention in San Francisco. They will compete for first place in the Challenge against teams from Iowa State and Penn State. For the latest Conference updates, check the NECA Student Chapters Facebook page.