After finishing fourth in last year's Solar Decathlon, Penn State will compete in the 2009 contest to be held again on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The Solar Decathlon is an international competition that challenges college students to design, build and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient home powered by sunlight, including electricity, hot water and interior climate control.

The contest is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Penn State's entry, dubbed "Natural Fusion," is one of only 20 invited to participate in the September 2009 competition. This will be the second time the University has competed in the Solar Decathlon. Its 2007 entry was called "MorningStar."

The team will be led by Jeffrey Brownson, assistant professor of energy and mineral engineering and Kyle Macht, a student in architectural engineering. Natural Fusion will involve students and faculty from the Colleges of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Engineering and Arts and Architecture.

The team's faculty advisers include Lisa Iulo, assistant professor of architecture; Andrew Lau, associate professor of engineering design; David Riley, associate professor of architectural engineering; Seth Blumsack, assistant professor of energy policy; James Freihaut, associate professor of architectural engineering; Moses Ling, associate professor of architectural engineering; Stuart Echols, assistant professor of landscape architecture; and Daniel Linzell, associate professor of civil engineering.

For a listing of other Solar Decathlon teams, click here.