The Stevens team will compete against 19 schools in the international competition to build a solar-powered, energy-efficient home that combines affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence.

Hoboken, NJ February 19, 2014

Stevens Institute of Technology has been selected to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy's prestigious Solar Decathlon for the third consecutive time.

The Stevens team will compete against 19 schools in the international competition to build a solar-powered, energy-efficient home that combines affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence.

"We are excited and proud to be selected for Solar Decathlon 2015," says Dr. Keith Sheppard, Associate Dean of the Schaefer School of Engineering & Science. "Our home is intended to have impact beyond the competition as our other entries have in the past."

In 2013, Stevens' net-zero energy smart house, "Ecohabit", took second place in architecture and fourth place overall. In 2011, Stevens' collaborative entry "Empowerhouse" tied for first place in two key categories, affordability and hot water, and finished 13th of 19 entries.

The 2013 Ecohabit home was donated to California State University San Marcos for use as a Veterans Center. The 2011 Empowerhouse home was donated to a Washington, D.C. family through Habitat for Humanity.

"The experience gained in the past two events will provide a wealth of experience to build on," says John Nastasi, Lead Faculty for Solar Decathlon & Director of Stevens' Product-Architecture program. "Stevens is well suited for this type of design competition and we have the enthusiasm of the entire campus behind us."

The Solar Decathlon enhances public understanding of cost-efficient clean energy solutions and provides students with training and hands-on experience to prepare them for the clean energy workforce.

The teams now begin a two-year process to design, construct and test their homes before reassembling them at the Solar Decathlon 2015 competition site at the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, California.

Learn more about Stevens' involvement in the Solar Decathlon at stevens.edu/news/content/solar-decathlon.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University®, is a premier, private research university situated in Hoboken, N.J. overlooking the Manhattan skyline. Founded in 1870, technological innovation has been the hallmark and legacy of Stevens' education and research programs for more than 140 years. Within the university's three schools and one college, more than 6,100 undergraduate and graduate students collaborate with more than 350 faculty members in an interdisciplinary, student-centric, entrepreneurial environment to advance the frontiers of science and leverage technology to confront global challenges. Stevens is home to three national research centers of excellence, as well as joint research programs focused on critical industries such as healthcare, energy, finance, defense, STEM education and coastal sustainability. The university is consistently ranked among the nation's elite for return on investment for students, career services programs and mid-career salaries of alumni. Stevens is in the midst of a 10-year strategic plan, The Future. Ours to Create., designed to further extend the Stevens legacy to create a forward-looking and far-reaching institution with global impact.