The announcement that SMIT will be installing Solar Ivy at the University of Utah has captured the attention of sustainability, design and technology news outlets around the world, most notably Wired Magazine’s UK branch.  Olivia Solon, technology reporter for the magazine, picked up on the Utah press release and wrote up a review underlining Solar Ivy’s novel approach to solar product design.

Other recent press highlights include:

Zeitnews, the technology news website operated by Zeitgeist, an international sustainability movement.

Science Business, a publication of Technology News and Literature.

Clean Technica, clean tech news and opinion website.

DailyIndia.com, news from India and the world.

Medindia, a south Asian health and wellness portal.

Iran-Daily.com, online source for the latest news in Iran and around the world.

The University of Utah, the third-ranked university in the U.S. for renewable energy use, has launched their publicity campaign for Solar Ivy!

The idea of bringing Solar Ivy to the University of Utah was initiated by senior Environmental Studies major Tom Melburn.  Two-thirds of funding for the project will come from the University’s Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund, supplemented by donations from the community.  Visit the SCIF’s fundraising page for more information about how to support the project!

Invention and innovation blog, Gizmag is currently featuring Solar Ivy on their homepage.  In a lengthy article that draws from a recent Inhabitat post, Gizmag writer Bridget Borgobello highlights Solar Ivy’s unique approach to solar power generation in vertical spaces.

Our friends at Inhabitat have been keeping tabs on Solar Ivy.  They published a post yesterday by sustainability consultant Bridgette Meinhold that reviews all the latest news about Solar Ivy.  Gleaned from Solar Ivy Facebook updates and YouTube videos, Inhabitat is keeping its readers abreast of the goings on at SMIT.

Co-founder Samuel Cochran presented SMIT and Solar Ivy to the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s Chair, Nancy Sutley, last week.  Her visit to the Brooklyn Navy Yard was meant to highlight manufacturing companies that are setting standards for the U.S. renewable energy industry.  Council Chair Sutley grabbed onto the Navy Yard and its cleantech tenants as examples of a new urban model for innovation that could drive growth and job creation in other urban settings around the country.

The compendium of captivating design and lifestyle, Incredible Things, highlights Solar Ivy. Featuring “Wonderful Weird Products” from across the internet, Incredible Things latched onto Solar Ivy and its unique system for the capture and delivery of solar energy.

The forthcoming issue of Organic Spa Magazine will feature an article about Solar Ivy by journalist Rima Suqi.  Rima interviewed SMIT co-founder Samuel Cochran for the piece in order to delve deeper into the inspiration behind Solar Ivy.

A great bit of press on the release of Tensile Solar this week from our friend Ben Jervey at GOOD Magazine. The post highlights Tensile Solar’s unique design and potential to alter the dialogue around implementing solar technology. The topic has been picked up by a number of other sites, including EcoGeek and Jetson Green.

Check back in to see a series of posts over the coming weeks that will outline the design and theory behind Tensile Solar!

Core77 featured an enthusiastic review of Tensile Solar on their website last Friday. The editorial team at Core has long followed SMIT’s work, beginning with GROW and Solar Ivy. This most recent article highlights the potential of Tensile Solar to create large structures that offer shade and solar power.

The post was quickly picked up by other like-minded publications including Inhabitat and Solar Feeds.

Special thanks to Phaedra Riley, LinYee Yuan and Core77 for their support!

Funding has been approved through the University’s Sustainable Campus Initiative to install Solar Ivy on the south-facing facade of the Orson Spencer Hall building.

Each year Utah’s Campus Sustainability Initiative Fund takes proposal submissions from students for projects that can help reduce the University’s dependence on fossil fuels.  Tom Melburn, a student from the university, reached out to SMIT in January to explore the possibility of developing a proposal to install Solar Ivy on one of their buildings.  The proposal was accepted on April 15.

The Campus Sustainability Initiative Fund and the University’s Office of Sustainability will collaborate with SMIT on the installation at Orson Spencer Hall, above.  Check back in here to see how the project progresses.  We will be sure to provide updates as we reach major milestones.