Richard King Award
The Richard King Award honors the man who founded the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® in 2000. Richard directed Solar Decathlon until his retirement from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2015. He continues to support international Solar Decathlon events globally.
The first Richard King Award was given to the Solar Decathlon founder at the 2017 Solar Decathlon in Denver, Colorado. Future awardees will be selected based on their contributions to the transition to a clean energy economy.
Nominee Eligibility Criteria
- Nominees must be affiliated with the U.S. Solar Decathlon in one of the award categories (i.e., student alumni or faculty advisor).
- Nominees must have proven dedication and outstanding contributions to at least one edition of the U.S. Solar Decathlon Design Challenge, including past Race to Zero competitions, or Build Challenge.
- Nominees do not need to be currently working directly with Solar Decathlon.
Award Categories and Award Criteria
- Outstanding Faculty Advisor
- Demonstrates outstanding commitment to preparing students to design and/or build highly efficient buildings powered by renewables.
- Outstanding Student Alum
- Demonstrates outstanding accomplishment in the transition to a clean energy economy.
NOMINATION FORMS
Nominations are currently closed for this year's Richard King Awards. 2023 awardees will be announced at the Solar Decathlon Competition Event in April. The nomination cycle for 2024 will open in winter 2023/2024.
2022 RECIPIENTS
Winners were honored during the Solar Decathlon Competition Event in April 2022.
Joe Wheeler, Outstanding Faculty Advisor
Joe Wheeler is a professor of architecture at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
(Virginia Tech) and
has been a faculty advisor for Solar Decathlon teams since the competition's start in 2002. Joseph has
advised three
Virginia Tech Build Challenge teams, setting the standard at his university for experiential learning
and inspiring
other programs to participate in the Design Challenge. He has also been involved in several
international Solar
Decathlon editions and has exhibited Virginia Tech Solar Decathlon houses in Times Square and on “Good
Morning America”.
Joe has partnered with colleagues in electrical engineering, materials science, industrial design, manufacturing, and transportation to develop and implement the use of new materials and technologies developed in Solar Decathlon houses.
Alex McDonald, Outstanding Student Alum
As a senior program manager for Tesla, Alex's work contributes to decarbonization of the
transportation sector. Alex is primarily involved with Tesla's Superchargers, the largest electric
vehicle fast
charging network in the world with more than 30,000 chargers globally.
In 2015, Alex led the Team Orange County Build Challenge submission, which included students from University of California, Irvine; Chapman University; Irvine Valley College; and Saddleback College. Team Orange County placed second in the Engineering Contest that year, and Alex has remained involved with the Solar Decathlon by mentoring Design and Build Challenge teams in nearly every competition since. Alex also served as a Grand Juror for the 2022 Design Challenge. One of Alex's nominators shared, "I can firmly say that we would not be participating in the 2023 Build Competition without his guidance and expertise. What stood out the most about Alex is he was very interested in supporting us, even though he had no ties to our university."