REU Site for Energy-Efficient Devices and Systems (R-SEEDS)

Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo MI

Investigators

Abstract

The REU Site for Energy-Efficient Devices and Systems (R-SEEDS) at Western Michigan University (WMU) aims to engage undergraduate students in energy-efficient technology research, design, and development. The development of energy-efficient technologies (i.e., technologies that require less energy to perform the same function) is a very effective approach to combat pollution and climate change, improve the competitiveness of industries and businesses, and reduce costs. This three-year program will support the creation of a workforce capable of conducting interdisciplinary research in energy efficiency. It will inspire a new generation that is conscious of the effect of energy consumption on the environment and can research and develop energy-efficient systems and technologies. The program will also train and educate a diverse workforce of new researchers, resulting in more technological prosperity in the US. Ten participants each year will be engaged in 10-week intensive team-based projects, working on cutting-edge research. This experience will prepare them for graduate programs and high-demand jobs in energy efficiency. The REU Site for Energy-Efficient Devices and Systems (R-SEEDS) at Western Michigan University (WMU) aims to engage undergraduate students in energy-efficient technology research, design, and development. The three-year R-SEEDS program will offer research projects in a broad range of exciting engineering and computing topics, such as computer architectures and systems, electric grid component design, autonomous vehicles, nanosatellites, plasma-assisted combustion, industrial carbon capture, neurobiological engineering, and microplasma sterilization. Ten students each year will learn the different challenges imposed by implementing energy-efficient systems and ways to overcome those challenges. The program will further train students to prepare them for a career in engineering and science through several workshops and seminars on energy efficiency, sustainability, research methodologies and tools, research ethics, research as a career, graduate studies, and presentation and writing skills. All activities will be supervised by academic advisors from three engineering departments: Electrical and Computer Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Chemical and Paper Engineering, with support from industrial partners. The participants will engage with the advisors’ research group, and academic and industry collaborators. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.