A group formed by ECE student Jeffrey Harmon and 2010 FREEDM REU student Michele Bustamante, mentored by ATEC Program Manager Ewan Pritchard and ECE Professor Dr.Subhashish Bhattacharya, was one of three groups to win the Grand Challenge Poster Competition at the 2011 Engineering Day at the NC Legislature.  Their poster topic was "Modeling Commercial Photovoltaic Systems" in the Grand Challenge category of making solar energy economical.

The other two posters to win were "Effect of Powdered Activated Carbon Base Material and Size on Disinfection Byproduct Precursor Removal" by Susan Dunn and Dr. Detlef Knappe in the category of providing access to clean water, and "Rapid Assessment of Critical Bridges in Coastal Regions Under Extreme Loadings" by Adel Elsaid, Anna Harris, and Dr.Rudolf Seracino in the category of restoring and improving urban infrastructure.

The design competition was open to all students from any engineering discipline and emphasized NC State’s commitment to the Grand Challenges. The three category winners will now compete for the ACEC/NC and PENC "Future of Engineering Award" grand prize and the honor of being recognized by the North Carolina Legislature on April 27th.