Mizzou students on award-winning team at the Department of Energy Solar Decathlon // Show Me Mizzou // University of Missouri

May 31, 2024

The University of Missouri’s Department of Architectural Studies, with support from Missouri Science and Technology and industry professionals, has taken another step to position Missouri as a leader in energy innovation.

Mizzou faculty members Lyria Bartlett and Janna Lancaster led two teams that recently presented their work during the final round of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Solar Decathlon Design Challenge. Their eight-story, comprehensive, sustainable LightHAUS project took third place in the Multifamily Construction Division.

“Our two all-undergraduate teams represented Missouri very well,” said Bartlett, associate professor and chair of architectural studies at Mizzou.

Of the 105 teams that entered the competition – representing 93 institutions from 18 countries – 40 were invited to the finals at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. The LightHAUS team was one of 12 to win awards in the Design Challenge and one of only three programs to receive a zero energy project designation from the DOE.

Solar Decathlon, DOE’s longest-running student competition, challenges a new generation of construction professionals to create high-quality building designs that address real-world issues related to sustainability, affordability and environmental justice. The competition promotes student innovation, STEM education and career opportunities in the construction industry.

Read more at the College of Arts and Sciences