UConn’s STEAM Team and Solar Tree

How Jasna Jankovic’s idea to raise awareness about clean energy sources led to a diverse collaboration.

from UConn Today

Prototype of UConn STEAM Tree

Most Americans are familiar with the sight of a solar panel on a house or in a field. They know what solar power is, but may not really have a direct experience with using it. An interdisciplinary group of UConn faculty and students are looking to change that by constructing a “solar tree” and installing it on campus.

A solar tree usually consists of a metal base that supports panels to look like an actual tree. The solar power generated from the panels is stored in batteries, which allows users to charge personal electronic devices, like mobile phones. The technology is common in Europe and Asia, with growing numbers of solar trees in the US. lar tree is currently being constructed at the School of Fine Arts while a site for the tree is determined. The tree will have a dozen USB ports, and is almost completely made up of structural aluminum.

“We see this solar tree as a combination of artistic design, engineering design, and a social gathering place,” says Jasna Jankovic, an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, who initiated the idea of a solar tree on the UConn Storrs campus.

“The biggest attractor of this project for me is getting to work with a group of people that I really didn’t know before and to work with people across different divisions,” says Chris Sancomb, an assistant professor in the newly created Industrial Design program in the School of Fine Arts. “Work like this was one of the reasons I came to UConn as a faculty member.”

Although there are a few other solar trees on university campuses, it is believed that UConn’s solar tree will be the first on a college campus in the United States constructed solely by university faculty and students. It will also be the only portable solar tree that can be fully disassembled and reassembled, to be placed in various locations on and off campus.

“We are building the tree by cutting, welding, and bending, and using a lot of different kinds of fabricating,” says Sancomb. “We are also using 3-D printing here and there for samples, and proof concepts that will later be manufactured out of aluminum. It is all made here on campus and the material has been sourced locally.”

“Sunlight is not all that consistent to provide electricity, so we store energy to batteries and the electricity to the charging ports,” says Sung Yeul Park, an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

UConn graduate student Michelle Skowronek ’20 (CLAS) is currently working on her masters of public administration degree, and did research into criteria like visibility, accessibility, walkability, the number of people that would pass the tree, and traffic flow.