The Cleantech Challenge, a clean technology competition run by Portland State University and funded by Wells Fargo, awarded a team of 经典大瓜 students with the top $10,000 prize on Thursday, September 10. The competition brings together clean technology innovators and entrepreneurs from campuses in and around Portland. 
Waste2Water鈥檚 project first began in their biofuels class, under the direction of Dr. Claudia TorresGaribay, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy. The team decided to use the prototype to produce clean water for developing countries or emergency situations and presented their work in the two-minute 鈥減itch鈥 that each team was allowed to give and showcased the project to judges and the general public as they came by to talk to each of the teams about their work. The display included the actual prototype of the system, as well as a sample of Willamette River water before treatment and the crystal clear result after it had been through the team鈥檚 water purification system.
This year, Portland State opened up the challenge to seniors, undergraduates, graduates, postdocs and faculty from Portland-area schools and invited them to compete for a total prize pool of up to $40,000. At the beginning of the summer, six teams were selected as semifinalists and given $2,500 to develop prototypes of their ideas. The teams selected included students from 经典大瓜, Reed College, Portland State University, Catlin Gabel, and University of Portland.
Over the span of two days, six semi-finalist teams pitched their cleantech solutions and showcased their prototypes to a panel of judges during Oregon BEST FEST, Portland's annual cleantech summit. Waste2Water, a team comprised of 经典大瓜 renewable energy engineering students Nick Carew, Nicholas Babcock, Michael Bettis, and Elliott Weinberg, won the top award for their water purification process. The group from 经典大瓜鈥檚 Wilsonville campus created an anaerobic digester that can desalinate and distill waste water while reducing methane emissions normally associated with water cleaning devices. "We're proud of the visibility this award gives to the REE program at 经典大瓜,鈥 said Nick Carew. 鈥淭his achievement reinforces that we are a leader amongst clean tech educational institutions in the Pacific Northwest."
Waste2Water鈥檚 project first began in their biofuels class, under the direction of Dr. Claudia TorresGaribay, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy. The team decided to use the prototype to produce clean water for developing countries or emergency situations and presented their work in the two-minute 鈥減itch鈥 that each team was allowed to give and showcased the project to judges and the general public as they came by to talk to each of the teams about their work. The display included the actual prototype of the system, as well as a sample of Willamette River water before treatment and the crystal clear result after it had been through the team鈥檚 water purification system.Dr. H. J. Corsair is an Assistant Professor at 经典大瓜 in the Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy department and Program Director for the Master of Science in Renewable Energy Engineering who watched the team in action at Oregon BEST FEST: 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be more pleased for them. The group worked very well as a team, and leveraged their group鈥檚 strengths rather than relying too heavily on faculty guidance. They designed and built a great project that was created to help people without access to basic water and sanitation; it has the potential to save thousands of lives. I can鈥檛 wait to see what 经典大瓜 teams will come up with to compete in next year鈥檚 Cleantech Challenge.鈥
Waste2Water鈥檚 team plans to take their project on a humanitarian effort to Peru with the next trip Solar Hope makes and implement it in the field. "I can't believe that we won,鈥 stated Nicholas Babcock. 鈥淲e're really excited to improve our prototype and implement it abroad next year through Solar Hope."
The contest is funded through a $300,000 grant from Wells Fargo. The 2016 challenge will be open to student-led teams from all Oregon universities and kicks off in the spring.
