A multistep synthesis of a metal-free organic dye-sensitizer for solar cells was developed as a multifaceted research project for upper-division undergraduate students with a goal of introducing students to the application of organic synthesis in material science, and renewable energy research. The characterization of the dye is done by thin-layer chromatography (TLC), NMR, IR, melting point, UV-vis spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry.