Year: 2011, 2013
Grant Amount: $54,800 (2011) and $51,000 (2013)
Sol Design Lab collaborated with students and staff to design and install two solar charging and study stations for UT students on campus. The stations increase awareness about solar energy mainly through their extreme visibility, but also through signage on the station explaining how the stations work, and the benefits of solar energy. The 2011 grant funded a workshop on solar power, which engaged students in learning more in-depth concepts on how to maintain and build solar units. The charging stations make solar power available to all students and have received publicity from the Alcalde, the online blog Inhabitat, and SXSW.
The combined grants given to a team of individual students (2011) and SURGe (2013) meant that two stations were installed simultaneously in June 2014 in front of the Perry-Casteneda Library and at the corner of 23rd and San Jacinto, near the Art Building and across from Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium. Each station includes power outlets for charging devices such as laptops and phones, and has wheelchair accessible seating available.
The University of Texas Green Fee 