Math Faculty and Student Solar Panel Proposal for Local Schools Moves Forward

In October 2024, Professor of Mathematics Victor Donnay, Kris Pasia ‘25, and Priita Peterson ‘26 presented a cost-benefit analysis of putting solar panels on two elementary schools to the Haverford School District. This originated from a project Pasia and Peterson worked on while enrolled in Donnay’s Math Modeling and Sustainability course in the fall of 2023. 

In January 2025, the Haverford School Board voted unanimously to move forward with the next stage of the solar project. The board will be submitting a grant proposal to Pennsylvania’s Solar for Schools project, which could fund up to 30% of the cost of the project. If they receive the grant, the district would then be committed to carrying through with the solar project. 

Also in January, Donnay, Pasia, and Peterson gave a talk and poster presentation at the national Joint Mathematics Meetings in Seattle, sharing the details of the solar panels project and the course concept of connecting mathematics with issues that students care about. The talk was titled "Cost-Benefit Analysis of Solar Panels: Empowering Students to Make a Difference."  

Donnay, Pasia, and Peterson have been invited to write articles on this work for Focus, published by the Mathematical Association of America, the American Mathematical Society’s Column on Teaching and Learn, and The Undergraduate Mathematics and Its Applications (UMAP) Journal.