Oregon Tech Engineering Students Win Visionary Award at State Invention Competition

July 3, 2024, Portland, Oregon. – Oregon Tech Renewable Energy Engineering student Adama Toure and Electrical Engineering student Jordan Harris-Toovy won the Visionary Award at the Invent Oregon Collegiate Challenge (InventOR) on June 27 for their fault-detection technology that monitors the lifespan of solar panels. InventOR said the concept, if realized, has the potential to make a lasting impact on the world.

InventOR is a statewide invention competition for Oregon college and university students who want to take their ideas for world-changing inventions from the drawing board to reality.

Toure and Harris-Toovy’s company, called Second Life Solar, has developed a low-cost solar panel monitoring prototype that uses sensors to detect and classify faults in solar panels. The team found that the new technology could improve the reliability and safety of solar panels. The technology also enables the safe refurbishment of used solar panels for grid-tied applications, reducing solar panel waste and contributing to a circular economy in the solar panel industry.

“Solar panels can only be considered a clean and sustainable energy technology if they pose minimal environmental concerns,” Toure said. “Unfortunately, currently 90% of decommissioned solar panels end up in landfills. Therefore, increased recycling and refurbishment efforts, as well as rapid adoption of solar energy, are necessary.”

The Visionary Award included a $2,500 prize that Toure and Harris-Toovy will use to scale their startup and develop another prototype.

“In gratitude to everyone at Oregon Tech who supported us, we decided to donate the first prototype we built to Oregon Tech,” Toure said. “This prototype is our way of saying thank you.”

Toure and Harris-Toovy received their invitations to InventOR after participating in the Catalyze Klamath Challenge at Oregon Tech in April. Oregon Tech students Grant Kightlinger and Molly Grace also presented their business concept, the FairPlay Challenge, at InventOR. Two current Oregon Tech students, Carter Stewart and Emmett Allen, received their invitations to InventOR while they were students at Rogue Community College and presented their business, Ancile Systems, winning the Outstanding Community College Award for their automated field tour.