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Geothermal Collegiate Competition - Fall 2023

College students: Compete to solve real-world geothermal technical and policy challenges for a chance at thousands in DOE prize funding!
Education Energy, Environment & Resources Engineering
stage:
Registration Deadline for Mentor Assignments
prize:
$10,000
Education Energy, Environment & Resources Engineering
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Summary
Overview Guidelines

Overview

9/13 IMPORTANT NOTE: Signing up as a team on HeroX is the first step, but the team captain must also click "Begin Entry" and complete the registration form submission to fully register. Having technical difficulties? Email .

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Welcome to the Fall 2023 Geothermal Collegiate Competition (GCC)! Stay up to date on competition announcements and details by clicking the "follow" button at the top right of the page. 

  • Through the Geothermal Collegiate Competition, the U.S. Department of Energy Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO) encourages students to develop innovative solutions for geothermal energy application challenges and build career skills for the clean energy workforce. 
  • Fall 2023 GCC prize amounts:
    • 1st place, Technical Track: $10,000
    • 1st place, Policy Track: $10,000
    • 2nd place, Technical Track: $6,000
    • 2nd place, Policy Track: $6,000

Registration opened on August 1, 2023, and will close on October 4, 2023. Click "Solve This Challenge" and fill out the registration form to enter!

Teams must have at least three undergraduate and/or graduate members and students of any discipline can participate. Final competition deliverables will be due in December 2023.

New to the Fall 2023 GCC, there are now two competition tracks: Technical and Policy.

  • Technical Track teams present a technical plan for deploying a geothermal heating and cooling system for a proposed community or campus of their choosing, including a conceptual design of the needed geothermal system based on community needs, benefits, and available resources.
  • Policy Track teams present a high-level plan for installing a geothermal heating and cooling system in a community or campus, focused on an analysis of the regulatory environment and an assessment of economic considerations for the project.

Guidelines

Please review the official rules for the complete application process and instructions for competing.

Specifics to note:

  • This competition is open for undergraduate and/or graduate students pursuing any major or minor. GTO aims to raise awareness of geothermal resources among communities and the public through this competition, thereby broadening the geothermal stakeholder base.
  • The Geothermal Collegiate Competition invites participation by teams of at least three students enrolled in accredited U.S.-based collegiate institutions or U.S. citizens enrolled at non-U.S. based collegiate institutions. In this case, “collegiate institution” refers to any school of post-secondary or higher education, including but not limited to community colleges, technical colleges, and traditional four-year and graduate-level universities. See “Who Can Enter” in the Geothermal Collegiate Competition Rules for more information on eligibility. 
  • There is no cost to register or participate.
  • Additional details are available on the Geothermal Collegiate Competition webpage.

If you want to receive updates on the prize or have any questions, please use the "Follow" feature on this HeroX platform or message us directly at .

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Timeline
Updates11

Challenge Updates

One Week Left to Register for the Fall 2023 Geothermal Collegiate Competition!

Sept. 27, 2023, 11:28 a.m. PDT by GCC Prize Moderator

Registration for the Fall 2023 Geothermal Collegiate Competition is closing in one week on October 4 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. All teams who wish to compete in either the Policy or Technical Track must register by this date.

Make sure you have completed the registration form by clicking "Begin Entry":

  • Signing up as a team on HeroX is the first step, but the team captain must also click "Begin Entry" and complete the registration form to fully register. 
    • The registration form asks which track you want to participate in (policy vs technical), as well as team member names, emails, majors, school name, etc.

Email with any questions! 

IMPORTANT - Check Team List! HeroX Glitch for GCC Registration

Sept. 13, 2023, 3:42 p.m. PDT by GCC Prize Moderator

HeroX currently has a coding glitch where teams are being locked out of the registration submission form. 

  • The GCC team is troubleshooting with the HeroX platform.
  • This seems to be happening when teams begin the registration submission form, step away, then try to come back to submit.
    • We recommend completing the registration form in one sitting to avoid this issue.
  • If you are receiving an error message that the challenge is closed when you try to register and would like to be paired with an industry mentor, reach out to Geo.Competition@nrel.gov by September 14 (one day extension due to technical issues).
    • You can still register for the competition after this date, but mentor pairing will not be guaranteed.

Below are the teams who have successfully registered thus far and who will be paired with mentors. 

  • We are sharing this information to ensure that the technical glitch hasn't resulted in teams thinking they have submitted the form when we actually can't see it on the back end.
  • If you would like an industry mentor and are not on this list, complete the registration form by September 14 (click "Begin Entry" on the competition HeroX page). 
  • If you have trouble accessing the registration form, email us at the address listed above. Thank you for your understanding!

Teams registered as of 4:30 p.m. MDT, September 13:

  • California State University Bakersfield (Captain: O. Valle)
  • Colorado School of Mines (Captain: C. Royer)
  • Grand Valley State University and University of Michigan-Ann Arbor (Captain: J. Stolzman)
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Captain: M. Lim)
  • Princeton University & Columbia University (Captain: M. Escobar)
  • SUNY Oneonta, SUNY Polytechnical Institution, Russell Sage Graduate School of Occupational Therapy (Captain: N. Segina)
  • University of California Berkeley (Captain: A. Sarkar)
  • University of Colorado Boulder (Captain: B. Calderon)
  • University of Oklahoma (Captain: S. Loggins)
  • University of Oklahoma (Captain: C. Vivas)
  • University of Tulsa (Captain: A. Lackner)
  • University of Tulsa (Captain: K. White)
  • West Virginia University (Captain: J. Dietz)

 

Register by TOMORROW to be Paired with a GCC Industry Mentor!

Sept. 12, 2023, 10:03 a.m. PDT by GCC Prize Moderator

Want to be paired with a GCC industry mentor? Complete the registration form by tomorrow, 9/13 at 11:59 p.m. MDT!

  • IMPORTANT NOTE: Signing up as a team on HeroX is the first step, but you must also click "Begin Entry" and complete the registration form (see image below).
    • The Geothermal Collegiate Competition registration form should take less than 5 minutes to complete.
    • Only one form per team is needed (usually completed by the Team Captain).
    • The registration will ask for at least 3 team member names and emails, as well as the track you have chosen to compete in.
      • You can change or add team members at any time; this form is not binding.
  • Section 1 of the registration form asks for a title, short description, and image. These are required fields on the HeroX platform that GCC organizers cannot change.
    • Title can be your team name or school name + "Registration"
    • For "Description" share a sentence or two about your team/project.
    • Consider using your collegiate institution's logo for the image.
  • Section 2 of the registration form is the important information that organizers need by 11:59 pm tomorrow, 9/13, to pair your team with a mentor.
  • Questions on completing the registration form?
    • Reach out to

 

2023 GCC Informational Webinar Recording Now Available

Aug. 21, 2023, 12:07 p.m. PDT by GCC Prize Moderator

The informational webinar for the Fall 2023 GCC is now available to watch on demand. The virtual webinar was held live on Tuesday, August 15, 2023. 

Geothermal Collegiate Competition organizers covered:

  • Eligibility requirements
  • Frequently asked questions
  • Considerations for site selection
  • Policy vs Technical Tracks
  • Stakeholder event examples
  • Deliverables
  • And more!

TODAY, 8/15/23, Last Informational Webinar for Fall 2023 Geothermal Collegiate Competition

Aug. 15, 2023, 7:31 a.m. PDT by GCC Prize Moderator

Join competition organizers TODAY, August 15 at 12 p.m. EDT for an informational webinar!

  • Get tips about site selection, resources, and the new policy track.
  • Hear about last year's successful Geothermal Collegiate Competition projects.
  • Understand the competition timeline and deliverables.
  • Ask your questions!

This is the last webinar before registration closes on Oct. 4, but you can always reach out to with questions.

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