I’ve been thinking a lot
about energy lately as the search for sustainable energy sources and more efficient
methods for energy usage become more and more important drivers of engineering
innovation. Just yesterday, LCS faculty received $450,000 to study two different
aspects of energy: cooling technology for data centers filled with
energy-hungry computer servers, and new nano materials which can dramatically
improve the efficiency of heat exchangers (Click here for more about how heat exchangers work). And today, the College was visited by famed
combustion researcher Dr. Suk Ho Chung of King Abdullah University for Science
and Technology (KAUST),
who is here to discuss his recent work on efficiency-limiting factors for
gasoline engines.
These projects are only the
tip of the iceberg (the melting iceberg, that is!). It is dizzying to consider
the tens of thousands of engineers and scientists around the world engaged in
energy research, with discoveries and improvements, new product development and
the launch of energy-based technology companies occurring simultaneously in
thousands of venues. Engineering schools are deeply involved in these efforts,
sometimes independently and often in collaboration with industry partners or
international groups of researchers. At LCS and elsewhere, researchers are
exploring energy-related questions that impact all types of powered devices: What
new lightweight materials can be developed to reduce the fuel requirements for
aircraft? What software is required to minimize the power needs of wireless
sensors used for everything from sensing pollutants in the environment to
detecting intruders in secure facilities? How can sewage treatment plants be
turned into energy generators rather energy consumers? Invention and ingenuity
cross political boundaries; answers and new approaches to what is arguably the
most urgent engineering concern of our time are coming from across the global community
of energy researchers.
Meanwhile, it is interesting
to explore how individuals view their own personal energy consumption. We know
that consumers have poor intuition about how much energy they actually use in
everyday life. LCS faculty member Cliff Davidson and colleagues have shown that
people consistently underestimate the amount of energy consumed by commonhousehold appliances. Happily, studies of consumer behavior
after the installation of smart grid systems show that when people are made
aware of their energy usage in real time, they become much efficient in their
energy usage. At LCS, our new smart grid laboratory
serves as a training ground for engineering students to test energy-saving
devices, while our other laboratories are learning centers for combustion and
fuel cell technology and the thermodynamics of biofuel conversion. You can read
more about our smart grid research in our Syracuse Engineer magazine and you can explore the
latest international news on smart grid technology from the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers here.
