UT Tyler Teams Shine in DOE Community Energy Innovation Prize Competition

July 3, 2024 | Hannah Buchanan

The University of Texas at Tyler placed first and third in the collegiate track of the 2024 U.S. Department of Energy American-Made Community Energy Innovation Competition.

The contest concluded last month with the third and final impact phase in which the top three
collegiate teams competed for a share of the $100,000 grand prize. Two UT Tyler teams were among the top three finalists in the contest this year.

“We congratulate our two teams of mechanical engineering students, led by Dr. Nelson Fumo and
Dr. Mohammad Biswas, and their community partners,” said Dr. Javier Kypuros, UT Tyler College of
Engineering dean. “Their concepts show exemplary teamwork, use of technology and collaboration
to help improve and benefit communities in need.”

Both teams advanced from the initial concept phase in January among nearly 200 schools and were awarded $15,000 each. For advancing in the second progress phase in April, each team received an additional $20,000 and mentorship services to help ensure the benefits of clean energy are felt in local underserved communities.

UT Tyler teams and their winning concepts are:

• Greener CASA – representing the Tyler campus: Pedro Montano and Rafael Reyes, both of
Longview, and Diego Diaz of Puerto Rico, won $45,000 for their community partner, the
Monarca Initiative, by creating an academia-community partnership to bring free energy
audits to underserved communities to promote energy efficiency.

• GreenSynergy – representing the UT Tyler Houston Engineering Center: Oswaldo Garcia,
Peter de Vries, Grant Howard, Muhammad Khan, Arnold Garcia, Anne Josiah, Syed Jafferi
and Parth Modi, all of Houston, won $25,000 for their community partner, Houston
Community College, by integrating clean energy into education, utilizing solar panels, fuels
cells and other technologies to foster learning and sustainability.

The Community Energy Innovation Prize is designed to strengthen relationships and support
underserved communities in their clean energy transitions. For more information, visit
energy.gov/eere/funding/eere-prizes-and-competitions.

With a mission to improve educational and health care outcomes for East Texas and beyond, UT Tyler offers more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs to nearly 10,000 students. Through its alignment with UT Tyler Health Science Center and UT Health East Texas, UT Tyler has unified these entities to serve Texas with quality education, cutting-edge research and excellent patient care. Classified by Carnegie as a doctoral research institution and by U.S. News & World Report as a national university, UT Tyler has campuses in Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.