New College Student Antonia Ginsberg-Klemmt Wins OZY Genius Award for Invention

May 17, 2021 – Sarasota

New College student Antonia “Toni” Ginsberg-Klemmt has been named a 2021 OZY Genius Award recipient, earning a $10,000 grant awarded annually to 10 college students pursuing “projects or ideas that have a positive impact on society.” She was chosen from thousands of applicants across the country for her patent-pending invention GismoPower—a mobile solar carport with an integrated electric vehicle charger that she designed for the New College campus. 

GismoPower, which stands for “Garage/Interior Storable Modular Photovoltaic on Wheels and Evcharger Rack,” grew out of her independent study project at New College, where she is studying physics and environmental science.

“I thought of this idea when I would go to charge my car at Heiser [science building on campus] and kept noticing how insanely hot it was to get in my car after it had been sitting outside in the sun for hours. I also noticed that there are no EV charging stations on the residential side of campus,” said Ginsberg-Klemmt, who grew up in Sarasota. “When my dad and I started brainstorming about creating a carport with solar panels, we realized that there would be several issues with it, including permitting for stationary structures, as well as what to do with the system in case of a hurricane. That’s when the idea of putting wheels on the system made the whole concept a game-changer because it turned the entire system into an appliance instead of a stationary structure.”

But creating GismoPower wasn’t an inexpensive undertaking. So Ginsberg-Klemmt sought out funding through opportunities like the OZY Genius Awards.

“Solar panels are not cheap and GismoPower is a robust system. I have a working prototype right now, charging my car in the driveway and sending the surplus energy back to the grid, offsetting the energy used by our house,” she said. “This award will primarily help us fund the cost of a second system for New College, as well as the improvement of its design and its components. Once we have that down, we hope that angel investors will be inspired to get involved so GismoPower can be used across the nation.”

Ginsberg-Klemmt hopes the new national recognition of GismoPower will help amplify her vision of global solar energy usage and bring attention to New College’s renewable energy efforts. To her, winning an OZY Genius Award proved that “there are others out there who are just as passionate and excited about solar energy,” she said.

“It also means that GismoPower is a unique invention whose time has come. It means the local, state, national and—who knows—maybe even global market is ready to hook into and contribute to the energy system for good,” Ginsberg-Klemmt said. “And it means that we can now put New College and the Sunshine State on the map for innovative disruption to the status quo.”