Description

The Solar Energy Converter which can track the sun without precise mechanical components. It is composed of trackers which resemble satellites attached to a slanted ramp, and positioned on the roof of Building 24. Squatting in the foreground are Robert I. Frank and Jerry L. Crutcher. Standing are Roy Kaplow and Richard Ploss.

Original caption: "For Release in A. M. Papers of Saturday, June 5, 1976

A Solar Energy Converter developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has design features which allow adequate accuracy in tracking the sun without requiring precise mechanical components, strict dimensional stability of the structural parts, or critical on-site alignments. The modular system permits units of different capacity to be assembled out of standardized components. With the model on the roof of M.I.T.'s Building 24 are (foreground) Robert I. Frank, research associate, and Jerry L. Crutcher, an M.I.T. senior who worked on the project. Standing are Professer Roy Kaplow, principal investigator in the research, and Richard Ploss, research staff members."