This Targeted Infusion project entitled - Development of Courses in Renewable Energy in Support of a Renewable Energy Engineering Curriculum - seeks to improve the quality and scope of undergraduate engineering programs at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). The project will develop anchor courses in renewable energy for the proposed renewable energy engineering (REE) degree program. By instituting a new BS degree program in Renewable Energy Engineering, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences will be leading the way for its students to enter the growing world of renewable energy resources. The planned degree and courses will serve the needs of students in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, as well as the newly created College of Urban Agriculture, Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences. The specific objectives of this project are: 1) the development and establishment of four new course modules in renewable energy engineering; 2) training of students in REE-focused technology and research; 3) acquisition and installation of new laboratory equipment to complement the new courses; and 4) the initiation of a BS degree in renewable energy engineering. Students enrolled in these courses will be better prepared to enter the 21st century engineering workforce, particularly in the emerging field of renewable energy, and will be prepared to matriculate in graduate programs.
The 3-year NSF Targeted Infusion Project grant was awarded to the University of the District of Columbia, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in October of 2010, for the development of Courses in Renewable Energy in support of a Renewable Energy Engineering Curriculum. In the Fall of 2010, multidisciplinary ME 3511-487 Photovoltaic and Solar Thermal Energy System (3cre) undergraduate course was developed and offered as senior-level technical elective course in Mechanical Engineering and in Electrical and Computer Engineering. This course included inclass discussions and wide range of experiments. Experiments were designed to give hands experience about the complete photovoltaic systems, comprising solar cells, charge controllers, inverter, and battery bank, to fundamental understanding of the solar cell behavior. Students were asked to develop contemporary understanding about the challenges and opportunities in the solar cell adaptations by the masses. For this, they generally worked on term papers and pursued associated topics. In the Spring of 2011, a multidisciplinary ME 3511-461 Fuel Cell Fundamentals and Technologies course was developed and offered as senior-level technical elective course in Mechanical Engineering and in Electrical and Computer Engineering. The course focuses on science and state of the art technologies of fuel cells. The course starts with the introduction of major type of fuel cells, such as solid oxide fuel cells, polymer exchange membrane fuel cells, and molten carbonate fuel cell etc. Students are then given a semester long term paper to pursue fuel cell advancement and applications. They also attempted to understand the fundamentals of the fuel cells with Fuel cell trainer. In the spring of 2013, students visited Aberdeen army base to see the demonstration of advanced fuel cells for the defense applications. Students made a fuel cell car that run on hydrogen fuel. In the summer of 2011, the Introduction to Renewable Energy course, ME 3511-103 was first developed. This course provides introduction to various types of renewable energy technologies and their capabilities. Discussion of economics, potentials, environmental impacts, and social policies are integral components of this course. In the Fall of 2012, the course was redesigned to be adopted as the University General Ed course in Discovery Science, IGED 260 Intro to Renewable Energy and Sustainability, with hands-on laboratory assignments for non-engineering majors. The fourth TIP course syllabus on Smart Grid Communications and Cybersecurity (Course code TBD) was developed in 2012, and revised in 2013. Objective: the course will teach students the basic concepts of Smart Grid technology, focusing on the networking and communication aspects as well as the cybersecurity aspects, network architectures, protocols and privacy schemes. Energy Concentrations Program: Two of the multidisciplinary Renewable Energy courses developed are currently being offered as Concentration courses internal to ME. Included in the energy concentration program are the Fuel Cell Technology course, Solar and PV System, Biomass, and an introductory course in nuclear energy. Students with concentration in energy will be required to take between 9 -- 12 credits hours. Students who have successfully completed the energy concentration program will have their degrees marked with "Energy Concentration". Project Outcomes summary: The major goals of this project were to: develop a Renewable Energy Curriculum and create a set of Renewable Energy courses to provide students with the skills to enter the emerging workforce in the alternative energy area enhance and strengthen the educational offerings of the Mechanical Engineering department provide training for engineering and non-engineering majors students in the emerging field of Renewable Energy research and application Specific objectives: The objectives are to: • Develop and offer Renewable Energy courses in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences • Create a Renewable Energy Concentration program • Create hands-on student labs to support and provide students with true hands-on experience in the applications of Renewable Energy. Key outcomes and Intellectual merits of the project: 1. The project makes a substantial improvement in the institution's capabilities, provides leading-edge engineering curriculum, research, and hands-on experiences for undergraduate students 3. The project broadens the participation in science and engineering research by women, and underrepresented minority students and improves the infrastructure and the laboratory capacity of our engineering program. Broader Impacts: Student involvement and improvement of STEM undergraduate education: Faculty included students in their research, and co-authored papers with the student mentees. The publication experience is very beneficial to the students, and the institution quality of education. The integration of research into learning and education: the project fosters integration of research and education, faculty were able to assimilate their research into the courses developed; mentor student research in the energy and cyber security fields. The integration of diversity into the student training and research activities provide broadening opportunities and enable the participation of underrepresented minorities, and also K-12 students through targeted outreach that conduct OPEN House events for the community and DC Public School students to visit the UDC Zero Energy Home Visitor Center.
