The Institutional Impact of CEES (NSF CREST Center)

Transcription

1 CENTER FOR ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY The Institutional Impact of CEES (NSF CREST Center) Raghava R. Kommalapati, PhD, PE, BCEE, F. ASCE Director and PI Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering Prairie View A&M University February 25, 2016

2 Outline Introduction Impact of the CREST Center Research Education Infrastructure Collaboration Challenges Future Plans 2

3 Introduction Established in October Researchers from 2 Colleges and 5 Departments Collaborations from more than 10 entities Goals of the Center Focus research on transitional and transformative technologies for global energy solutions Develop collaborative teams of researchers in three major areas: Biofuel Productions, Wind Energy, and Energy & Environment Establish First Class Research Infrastructure to support education and research activities Lead the development of undergraduate level Energy Engineering Minor graduate level Energy focus 3

4 Research The CEES team has been very active with research and educational activities Center Researchers published 59 Journal Articles and 3 Book Chapters 24 Peer Reviewed Conference Proceedings\Extended Abstracts 14 MS Thesis Completed (4 more expected in May 2016 with additional 9 in the pipeline) A total of 98 presentations were made at regional, national and international conferences 73 of the 98 were done by our students These numbers are more than 4 times the average faculty production in our college including our own center personnel prior to this grant 4

5 Research The PI received a $3.32M grant from the Department of Education through the University Title III Program to develop Energy Labs as well as other Environmental and Civil labs More than $1.5M was spent to renovate the Energy and Environmental labs and acquired all the basic lab supplies as well as major equipment The Center researchers received funding of $1.35M from 12 grants from funding agencies including DOE, NSF, DOT and ACS 5

6 Research A total of 152 students (46 graduate and 106 undergraduate) were supported either directly through the Center grant or other leveraged activities 39% are women, 64% are from underrepresented groups and are either citizens or permanent residents 89 (56 undergraduate and 33 graduate) students were supported by CEES and other directly related projects 45% are women and 55% from underrepresented groups An additional 63 (50 undergraduate and 13 graduate) students were supported through other leveraged activities (LSAMP, university support, Senior Design project etc.) A total of 7 post-doctoral candidates were supported 4 post-docs moved on to permanent positions 6

7 Education Worked with 6 Departments and the College of Engineering Established the Energy Engineering Minor at the UG Level Established the Energy Engineering Concentration in the current MS in Engineering Program Offered or helped to offer courses that support the Energy Curriculum A total of 424 UG students got exposed to 25 courses (16 different courses with 9 repeated) in the broader energy engineering field. A total of 263 graduate students enrolled in 17 Grad course offerings (12 different courses with 5 repeated) in the broad energy engineering field. An additional 152 students have been trained in research and/or other experiences through the center Offered scholarships to 10 students 7

8 Infrastructure Worked with the College and University Administration Acquired 2900 sq. ft of space and spent $0.75M of the leveraged grant and other funds to renovate and make them into suitable labs The labs support Energy & Environment, Biofuels and Wind Energy research Invested more than $0.75M and acquired major laboratory equipment GC-MS, HPLC, Ion Chromatograph, TOC, UV-Viz Spectrophotometer, CHN Analyzer, Thermogravimetric Analyzer, Pyrolyzer, Air Quality Equipment and Safety Tools Fabricated Fixed Bed and Fluidized Bed Biomass Pyrolyzers Acquired 1500 sq. ft of Office Space for CEES staff and students 8

9 Collaborations Established collaborations with the following entities and we continue to explore other opportunities Internal collaborations with other Engineering, Sciences and Agriculture Departments Our Sister Universities in the System, Texas A&M University, College Station and Texas A&M University, Kingsville Texas Commission on Environmental Quality University of Northern Iowa Louisiana Tech University University of Texas at Austin University of Kansas Iowa State University SUNY-Cobleskill Texas Tech University Rocketdybe (Part of Pratt & Whitney) International - Inha University, South Korea 9

10 Challenges Finding qualified Post-Docs and Graduate students from underrepresented groups has been and continues to be a big challenge Took us almost 2 years to acquire the space and identify necessary funds and an additional 2 years to renovate the labs and acquire lab equipment, furniture and other supplies Overcame several obstacles in the past few years but we are on target with all our goals for the center 10

11 Future Plans Plan to seek no-cost extension through September Apply for the Phase II award during the current cycle. We have the personnel, new laboratory infrastructure and tools in place we hope to use these infrastructure developments, research expertize and collaborations we created to secure the CREST Phase II award and other funding. Our vision is to make PVAMU a national resource in the area of Renewable Energy and Environmental Issues. 11

12 CEES Personnel Raghava Kommalapati, PhD, PE, BCEE, F. ASCE (PI and Director) Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering Energy & Environment (Group Lead) Ananda Amarasekara, PhD, Chemistry (Co-PI) Biofuels (Group Lead) Paul Biney, PhD, PE, Mechanical Engineering (Co-PI) Biofuels Ziaul Huque, PhD, Mechanical Engineering (Co-PI) Wind-Energy (Group Lead) Michael Gyamerah, PhD, Chemical Engineering, Senior Personnel Biofuels Kelvin Kirby, PhD, Electrical Engineering, Senior Personnel Education and Outreach Arabia Thompson, MS, Program Coordinator 12

13 Visit Us Online Questions/Further Information? Please contact: Raghava Kommalapati, Ph.D, PE, BCEE, F. ASCE Director, Center for Energy & Environmental Sustainability Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering Roy G. Perry College of Engineering (936) / 1650 (off)