Ethan Parks of North Lima, OH , wins national Green Energy Challenge

2013 Nov 7

Youngstown State University student Ethan Parks of North Lima, OH , was part of a team of students that won the poster session of the 2013 Green Energy Challenge at the National Electrical Contractors Association Convention in Washington, D.C., earlier this fall. The YSU team beat out teams from 15 other universities, including Penn State and Purdue.

Parks is a YSU junior majoring in Electrical Engineering Technology.

The poster competition involves creating a visual depiction of the team's proposal for the annual Green Energy Challenge, which this year solicited students' ideas for improving the energy efficiency of parking structures on their respective campuses. The YSU team developed a program for the M-1 parking deck on Wick Avenue, and the university is looking at implementing some of the team's ideas.

Posters were judged by members of the ELECTRI International Council.

The YSU team received funding from the Mahoning Valley NECA chapter and mentoring support from NECA-IBEW Electricians member contractor Joe Dickey Electric.

It's the second year in a row that YSU won acclaim at the Green Energy Challenge. The 2012 YSU team won the proposal component of the Challenge, beating teams from Georgia Institute of Technology, Iowa State University and the University of Washington.