The sun’ll come out…. tomorrow?

….From the looks of it, no. But here’s for hoping! The 2011 Solar Decathlon officially started on 9/22 with public tours beginning today, 9/23 at 10 am. There are 15 members of the Missouri S&T Solar House Team here in Washington, D.C. to check it out. We have 7 alumni members from the 2005, 2007, and 2009 teams, 3 current team members who were also part the 2009 team, and 4 decathlon virgins (including our main advisor). 
2013_current members.jpg
The three undergraduate decathlon newbies (Aaron Enz, Emily Vandivert, and Charles Wright- pictured right to left- who are current team leads and future officers….right? wink, wink) were sponsored by the team to come check out the 2011 competition. Right now the team is working on proposals for the 2013 Solar Decathlons in China and the US. If we get in, it will be the first time that there is 100% turnover from competition to competition within the team. This means it’s important for newer members to understand how the contests work, and what they are up against. 
Aaron, Emily, and Charles may have gotten 2 days off of school- but not without some homework. They have to score the teams and predict the final rankings of the competition. Also, when we get back to Rolla, they must give a presentation to the team at a general meeting about what they saw and learned. 
Check back tomorrow for more about the houses we saw and which were our favorites and why!
-Anna