The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® is a collegiate competition that has inspired thousands of students worldwide to enter the clean energy workforce since its inception in 2002. Today, the 10 contests that are the foundation of Solar Decathlon challenge students to design and build high-performance, low-carbon buildings that mitigate climate change and improve our quality of life through greater affordability, resilience, and energy efficiency. The winners are those teams that best blend architectural and engineering excellence with innovation.

Linda Yowell is an architect, preservation advocate and educator whose award winning work includes townhouses, apartments and lofts in New York, new homes in the Hudson Valley and the Berkshires, and educational buildings.