ISU Student Featured in the NY Times: Charge It: Solar Panels on a Purse

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/education/edlife/ideas-chargeablepurse-t.html

Bright Ideas | Design

Charge It: Solar Panels on a Purse

By RACHEL AVIV

Joe Hynek may be the only student at Iowa State University who carries a handbag for “scientific purposes.” On cloudless days, he wanders his neighborhood to test whether the purse, which is plated in thin solar panels and contains a lightweight battery, is absorbing energy from the sun. After three hours of direct exposure, the purse generates enough electricity to charge an iPod, camera or cellphone. (The bag will also charge — more slowly — if placed next to a window.) Mr. Hynek is currently working on the final touch: a small display screen that will indicate when the purse is best angled for absorbing the day’s light.

A doctoral student in Iowa State’s department of mechanical engineering, Mr. Hynek designed the Power Purse as his final project in an experimental garment design class. He was the only male student. The course required that each student design five dresses, but Mr. Hynek negotiated with the professor to focus on handbags instead. He spent the term searching fashion magazines for a purse design that would appeal to women “interested in projecting power.”

The final product is black and boxlike, with a clear plastic handle. He hopes the purse will be for sale in the next year, priced at roughly $350. Depending on how sales go, Mr. Hynek will expand the line, to solar-powered bracelets and ties.

[ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/04/education/edlife/ideas-chargeablepurse-t.html ]