Advanced Photovoltaics
Information related to the PV field can be found at Heliotactic Press, and I recommend visiting Photovoltaics CDROM, a web education tool for solar energy conversion.
Brownson Group Research:
Integrative Design
"System performance depends critically on how well the parts fit and work together, not merely on how well each performs when considered independently. Furthermore, a system's performance depends on how it relates to its environment--the larger system of which it is a part--and to the other systems in that environment." --Russell Ackoff
Present and Future
Natural Fusion · Solar Decathlon
The Natural Fusion project at Penn State has seen a very successful experience on the National Mall in in Washington D.C. this October 2009! Congratulations to the team for taking 3rd place in both Engineering and Lighting Design! What an amazing design-build process for all of us.
Visit the Natural Fusion Facebook and Twitter Pages:
We also experienced a fantastic visit by Mr. Ed. Begley Jr. on Sept. 25th of 2009. Mr. Thomas Rauch and I got to take Mr. Begley around State College via bicycles, and then capped off the day with a tour of the NF home and a wonderful speaking engagement on sustainability. He even stopped by the home at the Mall in October!
TRNSYS · Training Workshop
Date in the Summer of 2010 TBD. Contact us if you are interested in attending the workshop!
Contact Information if you would like to contact our group for outreach, consulting, or otherwise.
Integrative Design
This is a process, addressing systems problems by bringing all parties to the table at the beginning of the design process, and maintaining a common language and discussion through the build.
2009 Solar Decathlon
The Solar Decathlon is a biannual international competition for university students and faculty to design, build, and operate a home powered by the sun. The event is sponsored by the United States Dept. of Energy and culminates on the National Mall in October of 2009. Unlike other solar events, all materials and technologies used will be commercially available, and the public is invited to ex-
plore the potential of solar power, energy efficiency, and integrative design.
The 2009 Team has proposed the project: Natural Fusion. Natural Fusion is the holistic integration of elements, uniting design and engineering, and balancing energy demands against our solar resource. Our team is using integrative design to achieve a net-zero energy balance, and to optimize our system design. Other elements are needed within a house to provide functionality. Green materials and technologies are being investigated to sustain the balance between the environment and human interaction, forming an ecologically restorative home that is economically feasible for the average consumer. Project development is occurring in a multidisciplinary environment, with students and faculty participating from many colleges in the University. Our diverse team partners with industry mentors and a modular housing manufacturer. In keeping with sustainability, modular housing methods provides ecowaste and energy use, and allows new technologies to be deployed.
Environmental Technology
When considering the intense demand for resources that drive our economies and support life on the planet, we can define five distinct global reservoirs that all societies require: air, water, soil, sediment (minerals and geo-fuels), and energy. Each of these reservoirs has limited extent, requires recharging and maintenance, and shows interconnectedness at multiple levels. Correspondingly, each of these reserves is being depleted at an unsustainable rate. The increased demand for reservoir access (particularly for water and energy reserves) has placed enormous pressures on government and industries to develop technological advancements that answer the call for sustainable technologies to maintain each of these reservoirs. It is our goal in environmental technology to assess those reservoirs, determining the advanced tools required to maintain each both on a personal and industrial scale.
The Future
Over the next twenty years and beyond, science education faces
challenges from a competitive international workforce, as well as
intensive demands on global environmental resources. As countries
transition toward renewable energy and clean air-/water-based
economies, the playing field for environmental technologies and the
science that underscores them changes. Students require a new
perspective in energy and materials development to emerge as superior
engineers and thinkers: a global awareness in environmental
technologies, including materials development for renewable energy
systems and maintenance of environmental reserves. Education developed
around the core theme of environmental technology is the frontier that
will provide our students with job opportunities and a competitive edge
in research.
My efforts include outreach and recruiting for the undergraduate programs of the Department of Energy & Mineral Engineering. Interested candidates (new undergrads, high school students and parents included) should feel free to contact me by email or phone with questions, or to discuss the exciting and diverse undergraduate opportunities within EME.