2010 Issue

30 University of Tennessee in April 2007, majoring in power electronics with a concentration in power management for future hybrid-electric auto- mobiles. Between April 2007 and June 2009, Professor Khan worked as Senior Power Electronics Engineer at the Electric Power Research Insti- tute (EPRI) in Knoxville, gaining valuable experience in projects related to power distribution, power quality, energy efficiency, the smart grid and the utility side impacts of PHEVs. During his Ph.D. study, he also contributed to several EPRI projects including the 80PLUS initiative for computer power supplies. Fortunately, local utilities move forward and supported financially the new power engineering program, with donations totaling $232,000. We are thankful to the contributors: the Intermountain Power Agency, Rocky Mountain Power, the Utah Rural Electric Association, Questar, Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, the Utah Municipal Power Agency, and Reliable Controls. The Intermountain Power Agency also gave $155,000 to create a new scholarship endowment, whose proceeds are used to give scholarships to undergraduate students interested in power engineering careers. Although only one tenure-track faculty member was hired in the power engineering area, the program is being supported by two additional faculty members: Professor Arn Stolp and myself. At this time, the power engineering curriculum is composed of the following classes: ECE 3600: Introduction to Power Engineering (Professor Stolp) ECE 5610: Fundamentals of Power Electronics (Professor Khan) ECE 5620: Introduction to Power Systems (Professor Khan) ECE 5570: Control of Electric Motors (Professor Bodson) The good news is that student interest in the program is high. While declining student enrollment was partly to blame for the earlier demise of power engineering programs, this issue is currently not a concern. Perhaps students know where the good opportunities are better than we give them credit for. In order to insure the best training program possible for the students, the power engineering initiative includes a plan to create a new teach- ing lab. For this purpose, the College of Engineering of the University of Utah allocated $66,000. Professor Khan is working on developing the teaching lab, and we are also trying to raise additional funds. The other major part of the power engineering initiative is the promo- tion of new research activities. A research lab with modern facilities will considerably increase the visibility of the program. Towards this goal, a new research lab has been established, named PEARL (Power Engineer- ing and Automation Research Lab). This lab will provide modern facilities for research in areas such as power electronics for energy storage and renewable energy, control system design for optimal energy conversion, and so on. A couple of related activities are worth mentioning. First, Rocky Mountain Power has supported the department’s engineering clinic program for the past two years. In the program, undergraduate students perform senior projects defined by industry, and with joint industry/departmental supervision. This year, students are investigating smart grid technology under the supervision of Professor Khan. A second noteworthy activity is the creation of a Utah chapter of the IEEE’s Power and Energy Society in 2009, for which I have served as Chair. An email list of about 100 engineers interested in power has been used to advertise seminars and other news items. In 2009, six seminars were of- fered, including one offered through a visit from a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE’s Power and Energy Society, Professor Sakis Meliopoulos. While the new program is an exciting development for Utah, the extent of its ultimate success is uncertain. First of all, a single faculty member specifically devoted to the program is not enough. Such a program should be supported by at least one additional faculty member, and preferably three. Unfortunately, the current economic climate is not favorable to this growth. It remains to be determined whether additional faculty members will be assigned in better economic times. Another concern is that factors that contributed to the earlier demise of power engineering programs may reappear. Currently, there is significant investment from the federal government towards energy. It is unclear how long this trend will continue. Large expenditures under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the “Stimulus Bill”) target quick fixes and rapid returns. Long-term commitment to the electric infrastructure and to renewable energy remains unclear. A question to be determined is the continued role of industry in Utah. Given its support of the current initiative, there are reasons to be optimis- tic. Interestingly, a review of power engineering programs that survived the earlier downsizing in the U.S. indicates that these programs have been strongly supported by industry. It remains to be determined whether the one-time support received by the power engineering program in Utah will transform into a continuous commitment. The State may also have a role to play on this issue. In other parts of the world, state-level support contributes to higher education R&D activi- ties. Sometimes, revenues from the sale of electricity are used for this purpose. While we all enjoy in Utah the fact that our electricity rates are among the lowest of the country, greater re-investment in education and research would secure the supply of highly-trained engineers and support an infrastructure that would make Utah a player in the upcoming high-tech world of electric energy. Dr.MarcBodsonisaProfessorandpastChairoftheDepartmentofElectricalandComputerEngineering attheUniversityofUtah(hiswebpageca nbefoundat:www.ece.utah.edu/~bodson) .HeisaFellow oftheIEEEandhereceivedtheEngineeringEducatoroftheYearawardfromtheUtahEngineers Councilin2007.ForfurtherquestionsortojointhePowerandEnergySociety’semaillist,pleasewrite to bodson@eng.utah.edu . The Water Resource Specialists  Hydraulic Analysis & Design  Hydrology  Permits & Environmental Studies  Planning & Economic Studies  Sewer Systems  Source Protection Plans  Water Distribution Systems  Water Storage Tanks  Water & Wastewater Treatment 1276 South 820 East, Suite 100, American Fork, Utah 84003 T 801-756-0309 or 888-756-3726 (toll free) F 801-756-0481 POWER ENGINEERING PROGRAM — continued from page 29