Solar Oven Throw Down Returns for 2022

It's not at every university that engineering students get baking practice. But the University of Arizona's annual Solar Oven Throw Down includes many critical engineering lessons. ENGR 102 is a required course for first-year students, and the Solar Oven Throw Down is their first hands-on design experience as part of the Craig M. Berge Engineering Design Program. The competition is an effective introduction to experiential education, said CHEE assistant professor of practice Byron Hempel. 

“It’s fun and cool to give students hands-on experience,” he said. “It gets gears turning and gets freshmen excited for the next three years.”

Students form groups of around five and collectively choose everything about their ovens – dimensions, insulation material, even aesthetics. More than 600 College of Engineering students participated. 

Adrian Braileanu was a member of the Wasted Potential team, which won the award for best decorated oven within adjunct lecturer Kenneth George’s class. The team fashioned its oven to resemble a NASCAR race car to appeal to George’s love of the sport.

“We learned how to function as a team, how to design something as a team, which you don’t get a lot of experience with usually,” Braileanu said.

Sponsorship is vital to the effort, and this was the 10th year for W.L. Gore and Associates to sponsor the Solar Oven Throw Down.

“We love being a sponsor for this event, and we will continue to because it’s been so successful,” said Valerie Shulby, a 2019 systems engineering graduate and Gore IT technical analyst.

The company supports several college initiatives, as the partnership gives Gore associates the opportunity to recruit new hires, Shulby said.

“Every single person we’ve recruited from the College of Engineering has been very successful at Gore. They prove to be self-motivated and hold up to the culture and the standards that Gore promises. I commend the college for helping prepare students well for industry,” she said.