9730951 Ramesh The American Power Conference (APC), sponsored by the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), is an annual national forum for the discussion of the broad overall aspects of generation, transmission, distribution and utilization of power. APC has significant educational value particularly for undergraduate students who aim to learn more about the industry with a view towards deciding their career options. In recognition of this fact, IIT has been conducting a special program for faculty and students in conjunction with APC. This program is called the Ben Elliott Sponsored Student Faculty Program (BESSF). The program features special breakfast sessions and other events for students (like plant tours) in addition to the regular APC sessions. Through utility sponsorship, the program has been successful in enabling over 120 students and faculty to participate in APC each year. However, many undergraduate and graduate students are currently unable to attend due to lack of industry sponsors. The emerging competitive utility environment makes it difficult for existing sponsors to even maintain their current levels of sponsorship. In this proposal, we request travel funds, totaling $9,975, for 35 students to attend APC and participate in the BESSF program for the APC-98. The amount will be cost-shared with funds from utilities and from universities of the students. The students will be selected from among those enrolled in U.S. universities per the following criteria: * Undergraduate students, in particular, sophomores and juniors will be given priority. * Women and under-represented minorities will be given first preference. * U.S. citizens and permanent residents will receive greater consideration than non-citizens. * Students who have demonstrated prior interest in the power industry either through power engineering courses or through internships will receive additional consideration. * Graduate students who intend to present papers at APC will be given pr eference over other graduate students. This grant will significantly aid the BESSF program in its mission of encouraging more students (especially undergraduates) to pursue careers in power engineering. ***
