2:49 p.m., Aug. 31, 2007--The University of Delaware recently served as host of a national renewable energy research conference designed to encourage minority students and provide them experience in presenting their research.

The conference was a joint session, with a review conference of the Department of Energy (DOE) and National Renewable Energy Resource Laboratory's Renewable Energy Academic Partnership (NREL REAP) held in conjunction with UD's Sustainable Energy from Solar Hydrogen workshop from Aug. 20-22 in Gore and Clayton halls.

The joint session, sponsored by DOE and NREL's Minority University Research Associate Program (MURA) and UD's National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT), focused on solar and hydrogen energy power projects being investigated by undergraduate students at eight colleges and universities.

The conference was organized by a committee of UD's IGERT students and moderated by Syl Morgan-Smith, manager of governmental relations at NREL in Golden, Colo.

UD President Patrick Harker welcomed attendees and pointed out how appropriate it is that a conference about renewable energy should take place at UD.

“Renewable energy is a topic critical to our future, and this University has a long and distinguished history in this area. As far back as the 1970s, UD has been a leader in solar energy research,” Harker said.

UD's Institute of Energy Conversion, a pioneer in the development of thin-film photovoltaic solar cells, has been designated a center of excellence for photovoltaic research and education by DOE and NREL, Harker said. The engineering college has developed a solar cell with a record 42.8 percent efficiency, a research team is testing a campus shuttle bus powered by hydrogen fuel cells, and the solar hydrogen program at UD, led by Christiana Honsberg, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, is exploring even newer approaches to renewable energy resources, he added.

But, “a good idea is not enough,” Harker said. “We want our research to impact lives. That's why I'm grateful to the people at this conference. Their daily work is to fulfill our mission, to influence the lives of people broadly through research and through the commitment they have to creating that next generation of scholars and educators. We can be hopeful for the future because this group will be out there trying to achieve the goals shared by all of us on this planet.”

Michael Vaughan, senior assistant dean of the College of Engineering, urged those attending the conference to strive to always do their best. “There is no failure in a best attempt, only knowledge gained. I believe that all of you are great and can be even greater than you are now. I dare you to go forth boldly and be excellent,” Vaughan said.

Fanny Posey-Eddy, a project leader with NREL, presented an overview of the MURA program. She said it began in 1995 as the continuation of the DOE's Historically Black College and University Program to encourage minority science and technology students to earn graduate degrees.

“More then 75 percent are pursuing advanced degrees and more than 20 percent are working in renewable energy industries or related industries,” she said. MURA students, in addition to working on renewable energy research at their universities, have access to internships with NREL or with renewable energy industries.

Posey-Eddy thanked the students with IGERT for organizing the conference and then introduced students from Central State, Fisk, Howard, North Carolina A&T State and North Carolina Central universities, Southern University and A&M College and the University of Texas at Austin, Brownsville and El Paso, who presented their research.

Honsberg gave attendees an overview of what's being done in renewable energy research, especially solar, and why their work is so important. She said that one-and-a-half billion people are living without electricity today, but that gap will narrow as developing nations grow economically. She said a dwindling carbon-based energy supply is only one problem that comes with that growth. Global warming, air pollution, ozone depletion, acid rain, smog and health problems are all part of that equation, and, even though the world's attention is now focused on global warming, deaths from air pollution have the same impact as deaths from automobile accidents, she said.

“If we want to change the energy-generating system, our choices are renewable clean energy sources that include hydroelectric, biomass, wind, tidal wave, geothermal, nuclear and solar, but only solar, with its source of power as the sun, has an endless supply," she said.

UD and its IGERT students have been working on increasing the efficiency of solar devices, especially photovoltaics or thin-film solar cells, Honsberg said. It's a clean way of converting a fuel source to energy use and the use of solar devices has been growing at almost 40 percent annually over past 10 years. “If this growth rate continues it will take 30 years for photovoltaics to meet the entire new electricity demand in the U.S. for the next 50 years,” she said.

“I hope that this conference gives you the opportunity to talk with other people about your research, and we can all work on solving these energy problems,” Honsberg said.

“This conference is more than to help you develop in science, math and engineering. It's also for you to develop as a human being,” Morgan-Smith said. She then introduced Howard G. Adams, founder, CEO and president of H.G. Adams & Associates, a Norfolk, Va.-based human development consulting service.

An expert on mentoring and a writer, lecturer and consultant on personal development, especially in the area of graduate education, Adams has authored or coauthored 15 self-help guides and handbooks, including Get Up With Something on Your Mind: Lessons for Navigating Life. He received a doctorate from Syracuse University and was one of the first recipients of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Mentoring.

Article by Barbara Garrison
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson