Shine has been awarded an additional $100,000 in cash prizes and $75,000 in government research laboratory vouchers during the third round of the American Made Solar Prize, a competition for professionals and businesses pioneering development of America’s solar industry. The first student team to ever win the prize, Shine is thrilled to be recognized and supported by the competition’s federal government partners: the United States Department of Energy and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Many thanks to our mentors and advisors for guiding us through this difficult competition — we are deeply honored and inspired to continue our work.

Shine has been awarded $50,000 in cash prizes as one of 20 teams selected to progress to the second stage of the American Made Solar Prize. Please see our post on the second stage of the competition (posted July 10 2020) for more details!

I cannot over emphasize or underscore how much these Catlin Gabel student inspire and humble me. They are absolutely amazing humans and I am so grateful to get to know them and witness them in action. They embody a similar philosophy of Imagine, Design, and Create a Better World. They get that being part of a FIRST Robotics team is about more than just robots.

Catlin Gabel students invented JuiceBox, a unique solar-powered device that provides electricity for off-grid, portable pod houses inhabited by previously homeless people. The project, an intersection between environmental and humanitarian work, earned the team a $10,000 prize, which they are re-investing into the project.

The ideas of two Catlin Gabel sophomores merged into a single invention that is changing lives at the Hazelnut Grove homeless village.

Solomon Olshen wanted to provide electricity to residents of Hazelnut Grove, where he has volunteered with his father, Andy, to help residents create a community of tiny houses. Classmate Anjali Haripriyan wanted to bring solar power to homeless shelters to help them use clean energy and reduce their energy costs.