On September 25th, 2007, the Department of Materials Science and Engineering held the finals for the inaugural MADMEC competition. The winners were as follows:

1st Prize, $5,000: BioVolt
2nd Prize, $3,000: Biogas Nicaragua
3rd Prize, $2,000: The Curie Brothers

The final event was a great success and was covered by various media outlets. Some of of the press includes:

MIT News Office article on the MADMEC finals
New Scientist article on MADMEC, BioVolt and Corona Power

The teams below also participated in MADMEC 2007:

Team Corona Power
That's Cold
Solstir

MADMEC 2007 was a joint venture between MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the Dow Chemical Company, empowering MIT students to shape the future of energy. Through MADMEC, MIT students can make a difference with materials science and engineering.

In recent years, much of the world has been making efforts to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels and non-renewable resources. Regardless of the motivation of these efforts – environmental, political, social or fiscal – the student scientists and engineers at MIT have the ability to make significant contributions to the development and utilization of alternative, non-traditional sources of energy.

CONTEST CHALLENGE:

Design and build a prototype device that harvests, stores, or exploits alternative energy sources through principles of materials science and engineering.

The most sucessful contest entries will be those that leverage advanced or novel applications of materials research, or incorporate materials science solutions in a creative manner. The intent of this contest is to engage students in prototyping, design and device fabrication, while elucidating the materials engineer's role in alternative energy development.

The scope of the contest is intentially broad, to foster creative thought and the production of innovative devices. It is up to the teams to determine the specific problem they want to solve, their plan of attack, and even their own definition of "alternative" or "non-traditional" energy sources.

SCHEDULE
April 3: Contest Kickoff
May 18: Registration due date
August 8: Semi-finals
September 25: Finals & Awards