I am delighted to be here today to salute the Tongji University team as you prepare to compete in this year’sSolar Decathloncompetition in Washington.

I remember the first Solar Decathlon on the Mall in Washington in 2002, when I was living in Washington DC. Our family had a great time touring the houses and talking to the students who had designed them. The next time I had an opportunity to attend, in 2007, the event was drawing such large crowds that we had to settle for just looking at the outside of the houses. So it's a great privilege today to meet the team and tour your remarkable house design.

The fact that a Tongji team has been chosen as one of the 20 teams for this competition is testimony to your university's spirit of innovation. Using recycled shipping containers to construct this Y-shaped house is a clever reminder that Shanghai is the world's biggest shipping port. It also addresses the problem of affordable housing while offering ways to save energy.

Some of you may recall the visit last November of US Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Here at Tongji he talked about the history of innovation in science, including some of his own experiences. By taking on the challenge to design a house that combines affordability, consumer appeal and design excellence with optimal energy production and maximum efficiency, you are writing your own page in the history of innovation. You are also demonstrating the kind of cooperative effort that Secretary Chu and Minister Wan Gang hoped to encourage when they launched the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center.

In August I will leave Shanghai after three exciting years to return to Washington, DC. Although I am sorry to go, this means that I will be able to come view your solar house in September. As I am certain that large crowds will be lined up waiting to see the only Chinese design in the competition, I am very excited that you are giving me a preview today. I will be sure to come by and say " jiāyóu" in the fall.

Congratulations to your team and congratulations also to Tongji for fostering a campus spirit that places innovation at the forefront of learning.

Thank you!