Augustin Mouchot (April 7, 1825 - October 4, 1911) was a French inventor of the earliest solar-powered engine, converting solar energy into mechanical steam power. He was drawn to the idea of finding new alternative energy sources, believing that the coal which fueled the Industrial Revolution would eventually run out. His experiments involved a water filled cauldron enclosed in glass, which would be exposed to the heat of the sun until the water boiled, and the steam produced would provide motive power for a small steam engine. His concept designs were so successful that he obtained support from the French government which enabled him to stop teaching and pursue the research full time. He worked on his most ambitious device in the sunny conditions of French Algeria and brought it back for demonstration at the Universal Exhibition in Paris of 1878. There he won the Gold Medal, impressing the judges with the production of ice from the power of the sun. The French government assessed in a report that solar energy was uneconomical, deeming Mouchot's research no longer important and ending his funding. He died in 1911 at the age of 90.