UNH Student Team Named May
“Innovation Rocks!” Award Winner

DURHAM – Retrolutions, a team of University of New Hampshire business and engineering students which recently captured first place in the 2008 Environmental Design Contest, has been named the “Innovation Rocks!” Award winner by the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development’s Business Resource Center for the month of May. This marks the first occasion in “Innovation Rocks’” history that the award has been given to an educational institution.

The team, which originally presented their plan at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM, was later asked to demonstrate their project at the renowned EPA Science Forum in Washington, DC. Retrolutions’ winning submission, EARTH (Education, Awareness, Reduction, Technology and Holistic Approach) was a plan to retrofit a building in Phoenix. In developing the project, the 14 UNH students designed three technologies – a grey water recycling system, a solar concentrating energy production system and a compressed air enhanced evaporative cooling system – that could be implemented to minimize the building’s energy and water demands.

“If the work that these students did is any indication, the state of innovation in New Hampshire is in excellent hands,” said New Hampshire Business Resource Center Director Roy Duddy. “With youth retention being a paramount concern for ensuring the continued economic health of our state, the University of New Hampshire has found a creative way to engage students and to allow them to put their academic lessons to real world use. They’re truly preparing students to be the innovation leaders of tomorrow.”
 
“Innovation Rocks!” is an initiative sponsored by the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development’s Business Resource Center in coordination with Rock 101 (WGIR-FM) and the The Pavilion at the Hilton Garden Inn Manchester Downtown to celebrate the creativity and ingenuity of New Hampshire innovators.