Mechanical, Automotive & Materials Engineering

Grad student trying to squeeze more energy from solar panels

Looking out over the rows and rows of solar panels that line the roof of the Tecumseh Arena, Frank Iakovidis sees a lot of untapped potential.

While it’s true the more than 2,000 panels there provide almost 600 megawatt hours of electricity to the generating grid, the master’s student of engineering thinks there’s a whole lot more energy to be had, if he could only find a way to cool them down in the summer and prevent snow from building up on them during the winter.