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An interdisciplinary team of OU students from the Gibbs College of Architecture, Gallogly College of Engineering and Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication was recently selected as a finalist for the 2024 Solar Decathlon Competition. The team is competing in this year’s Design Challenge in the Single-Family Housing Category.
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. This competition challenges student teams to create high-performance, zero-energy building designs that address real-world issues such as climate change, environmental justice and affordability.
This year, there are 105 teams from 93 collegiate institutions in the competition. The Eco-Sooners team comprises fourteen students from OU’s Interior Design, Architecture, Construction Science, Landscape Architecture, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering and Public Relations programs.
The OU Eco-Sooners team presenting their decathlon project in the semi-final phase.
The Eco-Sooners first started the competition in fall 2023 and submitted a project brief in November. After receiving feedback on their design ideas, the team presented their updated project to the jury in the semi-final phase and was officially selected as a finalist this February. During the semi-final phase, the Eco-Sooners competed against teams from several national and international universities.
Their finished proposal will prioritize the environmental, ecological and socio-cultural pillars of the DOE’s sustainability principles. Specifically, their project will focus on energy and water efficiency, envelope and structure resiliency, community and cultural preservation, individual health and well-being promotions and affordability and economic effectiveness.
The competing students are Nana Antwi, Shiva Azizi, Mckenna Cash, Harvey Cooper, Andrew Ejenakevwe, Jennifer Fuentes, Mariana Hernandez, Maria Luiza Klem, Iman Moradi, Ramtin Mirmohammad, Chase Pride, Zhina Rashidzadeh, Juan Jose Serrano Sala and Hannah Williamson.
The team is led by Negar Matin, professor of Interior Design, alongside academic advisors Li Song, professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and Shideh Shadravan, professor of Architecture. Throughout the competition, the students have received guidance from OU Interior Design alumni Mackenzie Matray and Riham Hamed as well as OU mechanical engineer Korey Wheeler.
In addition, the team has received widespread support from various Gibbs Faculty members, including Elizabeth Pober, director of the Interior Design division, Stephanie Pilat, professor of Architecture, Suchismita Bhattacharjee, associate dean of academic and college administration, and Hans Butzer, dean of Gibbs College.
The team will present their final project at the Department of Energy campus in Golden, Colorado this April. Learn more about the Solar Decathlon and see the full list of finalists at solardecathlon.gov. To get updates about the OU Eco-Sooners, follow them on Instagram at @ou_ecosooners.
Gibbs College is pleased to present the exhibition Vollendorf in Oklahoma: The Architecture of Dean Bryant Vollendorf during the Spring 2025 semester. It will be on display in Gould Hall, on the OU-Norman Campus, from February 16, 2026 - March 13, 2026.
On November 21, 2025, the Mainsite Contemporary Art gallery was transformed into a showcase of innovation and craftsmanship for the University of Oklahoma’s furniture design build studio exhibition, “Purpose in Form.”
Associate Professors Lee Fithian, Ph.D., and Elizabeth Pober have published a chapter in the recently released New Perspectives in Indoor Air Quality, published by Elsevier. Their contribution, titled “Chapter 16 – Architecture and the Challenges of Indoor Air Quality,” examines the relationship between architecture and indoor air quality.
