Progression: Press Room

Welcome to the Press Room, where we highlight the latest news, press releases, special reports, as well as other important information relevant to NYIT's 2007 Solar Decathlon team.

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NYIT 2007 Solar Decathlon Team Officially Unveils OPEN House
Community Gives Students Special Sendoff to Washington, D.C.
Sept. 24, 2007

Old Westbury, N.Y. - OPEN House, New York Institute of Technology's (NYIT) entry for the 2007 Solar Decathlon, was officially unveiled to the public at a ceremony held on Sept. 21 at the construction site in the Midge Karr Fine Arts Center parking lot of the Old Westbury, N.Y., campus. Under sunny skies, NYIT community members, elected officials, sponsors, press, and other guests gathered to give the interdisciplinary team a fitting sendoff to the "solar village" in Washington, D.C.

NYIT President Edward Guiliano, Ph.D., congratulated the students on the culmination of two years of intensive work and collaboration. He also thanked all supporters for recognizing NYIT as a forward-thinking institution and helping to make it a "green college." To read the president's remarks, click here. Judith Dimaio, dean of NYIT’s School of Architecture and Design, described OPEN House as "elegant," "ingenious," and a real "winner."

New York State Senator Carl L. Marcellino stated NYIT's effort "is what the country is all about." In addition, congratulatory letters were read from U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Randy Spitzer (M.A. '05), a representative from the Long Island Power Authority, one of the team’s sponsors, stated "this is the future." Solar Decathletes Matt Vecchione, student project manager, and Dan Rapka, engineering team leader, thanked team sponsors and discussed various elements of OPEN House.

The celebration was covered by several broadcast outlets, including WCBS-TV, WCBS-AM 880, Fox 5, and CW 11. In addition, the solar home was recently featured in a two-page Newsday article, as a cover story in the trade magazine Hammer, and in Building Long Island magazine.

The ceremony was followed by tours of OPEN House, which will remain on campus until Monday, Oct. 1. It will then be disassembled and transported to the National Mall. All teams can begin reassembling their solar-powered homes at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 3.

The competition's opening ceremony takes place on Friday, Oct. 12 and the winning team will be announced on Friday, Oct. 19. For the complete schedule of events, click here. If you would like to post a message on the NYIT Solar Decathlon team blog, click here. 

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Contact: Jason Selss, media relations manager, 516.686.7481 or jselss@nyit.edu.