RESEARCH: SOLAR POWERED APPAREL

UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHER | APPAREL, EVENTS, AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT, IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY, AMES, IA

January 2016 - Present 

Research: Solar Powered Apparel 

Our team developed a book bag with a removable, flexible, thin film solar panel. It is designed to convert the energy from the sun to electricity that charges a battery bank stored in the book bag. It has all the typical features of a book bag like pockets, a laptop holder, and padded shoulder straps. It converts from a buckle bag with a solar panel to a cinch strap bag without the panel.

• Created a campus-wide survey to collect student-focused data on solar powered apparel and hosted a focus group 

• Developed solar powered book bag design, created a prototype bag, integrated electronics 

• Coordinated media coverage and began patenting and wear testing using human subjects

• Presented findings at the Iowa State Undergraduate Research Symposium, Research at the Capitol, National Conference on Undergraduate Research, and the International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference 

• Authored an award-winning research paper for the 2018 ITAA Annual Conference, received first place for the Undergraduate Student Best Paper 

See images and documents below to see the design process.