CSUN mechanical engineering students and faculty advisor Abhijit Mukherjee (center, holding glass plate award) show off their CSU award-winning solar charging tree, which can provide power to electronic devices for people on the go. Photo by David J. Hawkins.

The CSU system recognized a team of senior engineering students at California State University, Northridge this fall with a statewide award for their design and construction of a portable “solar charging tree.” The team of 19 mechanical engineering students earned a Best Practice Award at the CSU Facilities Management conference in Sacramento for the mobile charging station, which is equipped with a 100-watt solar panel and can provide power to electronic devices such as phones, laptops and tablets for people on the go.

With a very limited budget of $1,000, the students — most of them seniors — designed and built the charging tree over the course of just one semester in spring 2014. The structure stands about 7 feet tall, topped with solar panels and a canvas shade, and sports a metal trunk painted a vivid green.

“It is so eye-catching and nicely done,” said Abhijit Mukherjee, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, who supervised and mentored the student design team. “It’s not breakthrough technology, but it’s a very nice piece of engineering and has current market value. It looks like a complete product — that’s why it was so successful.”

The design team named themselves SWEET, the Solar and Wind Energy Engineering Team. The students and the Department of Mechanical Engineering hope to install six to 12 of the solar charging trees around campus at locations such as the library and University Student Union, to provide clean energy alternatives to students and faculty, said Mukherjee, director of CSUN’s Energy Research Center.

Officials at CSUN’s Institute for Sustainability hailed the project as a model for “learning by doing.” Mukherjee said the CSU award for Best Student Achievement in the Physical Environment validated the students’ work and hands-on learning.

“It gives more recognition to the university, the college and the department, that we engineers are really doing something useful for the community,” he said.

At the CSU conference this fall, CSUN also took home a Best Practice in Construction Delivery award for the new Learning Commons at the Oviatt Library. The CSU Chancellor’s Office also honored CSUN’s Facilities and Physical Plant Management (PPM) teams with an award for best overall project delivery.

The Learning Commons, which opened in fall 2013, transformed the library’s main floor with a Freudian Sip coffee shop, group study tables, modular furniture, smart boards/touch screens, WiFi and a wealth of comfy couches.

“This project was an excellent example of collaborative design delivered efficiently,” said Harry Hellenbrand, provost and vice president of academic affairs.

CSUN officials Colin Donahue, CFO and vice president of administration and finance; Helen Cox, director of the Institute for Sustainability; Ken Rosenthal, associate vice president of facilities development and operations; and Jason Wang, senior director of PPM, accepted the awards in Sacramento on behalf of the CSUN teams.