Workshop Description

 Solar is Real… Now and for our Future

After only 5 weeks of preparation, the University of Delaware was proud to host the very first collaborative MURA/IGERT workshop from August, 20th to August, 22nd. Lead by a committed and dedicated IGERT student committee, and with the help and advice of our friends at NREL, the workshop was a success and we hope to host it again in the years to come. Even the incessant rain, after weeks of sunshine and 90 degree temperatures, didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the attendees and the conference committee. Armed with umbrellas, ponchos and cheery dispositions, the attendees remained upbeat and presented their research professionally. The DOE-NREL Minority University Research Associates Program (MURA) is an undergraduate research program that encourages minority students to pursue careers in science and technology. In this program, undergraduate/graduate students perform renewable energy research projects during the academic year with principal investigators at their university and are awarded summer internships in industry or at national laboratories such as NREL during the summer. Once accepted into the program, students can work on a research project for 1-3 years. By providing renewable energy research opportunities, the program has proven to be very successful in retaining minority undergraduate students in the science and technology areas and helping many students reach their educational and career goals.

     Universities that took part this year included Central State, Fisk University, Howard University, Southern University and A&M College, University of Texas, Brownsville, and University of Texas, El Paso.

     This year, the REAP Program Review Meeting (REAP2007) and the Sustainable Energy from Solar Hydrogen NSF-IGERT workshop at the University of Delaware brings together two groups that are rooted deep in renewable energy research at an institution that is equally committed to renewable energy. This student-run conference provided invited and student speakers the opportunity to share their enthusiasm about their research/involvement in the area of sustainable energy, with an emphasis on the many aspects and interrelationships of solar power and hydrogen as an energy carrier.

     Throughout the three day conference, a host of invited speakers took part. After President Harker, Syl Morgan-Smith, Professor Honsberg and Dean Vaughan opened the conference, Dr Howard Adams, a well known motivational speaker, empowered the audience with a talk entitled, ‘Maximizing the Graduate School Experience’. With references to ‘Big Dogs eat breakfast early’, and ‘don’t go socializing with any Chihuahuas’, the conference got underway. The audience was in stitches as Dr Adams regaled us with stories to inspire success.

     The next few days were full of other respected and well-known guest speakers. Jim Posey, the General Manager for Municipal Light and Power, ensured his listeners were engaged with a talk about the provision of energy in Alaska in diverse ways. ‘Engineers without Borders’ shared their experiences of working with renewable energy projects in Cameron ended the day-time activities on the 20th, August. The well-attended dinner speaker on the first night was Larry Kazmerski – Director of the National Center for Photovoltaics, NREL. As with most of ‘Kaz’s’ talks the audience remained engaged and animated throughout, although I doubt anybody left the room realizing the heightened the importance of finding a solution to our rapidly growing problem of CO2 production.

     Guest speakers on the second day included environmental policy expert Professor John Byrnes, the Director for the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy and Dr. Dave Carlson whose talk entitled, ‘Fossil Fuel Depletion, Global Warming and the Solar Energy Solution’ enabled the audience to see the drastic changes taking place in glaciers world wide, and the potential impact and devastation this will inevitably cause if we do not make substantial changes soon. Stephen Cox, from Drexel University and Pascal Tessier, from Air Liquide, provided the final two talks to an interested and engaged audience.

     Alongside these talks, there were other activities that the students could be involved in. A trip to Air Liquide was a highlight in which the students got to travel to the site in the Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus. And, the poster presentations, university tour and opportunities for networking were well-received.

     We look forward to hosting the conference again in the future and hope that our next intake of IGERT students maintain the high standards that were set at this workshop. Without such a committed and focused team, the conference would not have been as successful as it was, and I am incredibly proud of the level of professionalism that the present IGERT students showed in their organizational and interpersonal skills.

Mo Bremner
IGERT Program Coordinator

Conference Organizers