Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering SEMINAR

Swanson Power & Energy Initiative: Partnering to Meet Industry Needs

through Innovative Education and Collaborative Research

Gregory F. Reed, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President, Power & Energy Systems Technical Services – KEMA, Inc.

Adjunct Professor, Swanson School of Engineering ECE Dept. – University of Pittsburgh

Friday, Feb. 8, 2008 – 12 PM NOON

Room 360 Benedum Hall

ABSTRACT

The University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering has been embarking on a proactive approach to the issues faced by the power and energy industries of an aging workforce, infrastructure degradation, and technology development deficiencies that have evolved somewhat unabated over the past several decades. A renewed power and energy program initiative has been developed with inclusive components to academic and research programs in three key areas: electric power, nuclear, and mining engineering.

This inter-disciplinary program, entitled the Power & Energy Initiative, has been developed in close collaboration with industry partners and also supports strong synergies with the School’s thrust areas in Sustainability, Product Innovation, NanoScience & Engineering, and other related activities.

The Power & Energy Initiative is unique in its combination of electric power, nuclear, and mining engineering, in conjunction with the close synergies to other related areas; and thus provides a strong cross-disciplined level of diversity for student opportunities, faculty research areas, and industry and government participation. Part of the Power & Energy Initiative’s development includes renewed educational program options and research opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students; as well as various opportunities for faculty research activities across the School’s six departments (i.e., Bioengineering, Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science).

The essential goals of the Power & Energy Initiative will be presented, along with the vision of establishing a world-class Power & Energy Center of Excellence for education and research. Further, a description will be provided on the modernized educational curriculum and research programs that are being developed and implemented for the initiative, including specific areas of research opportunities related to the Swanson School of Engineering’s faculty interests and strengths. An overview will also be given on the unique opportunity that the Pittsburgh region provides for developing a strong industry-academia collaboration that can address the needs of the power and energy industries, and the role that industry has played in the initiative’s development thus far.

BACKGROUND

The University of Pittsburgh has traditionally been an educational leader in the power and energy arena. This has provided a rich history and natural base for an academic and research resurgence in these fields, with the potential for strong industry collaboration and support. All three core areas of the Power & Energy Initiative – electric power, nuclear, and mining – share common themes with respect to strong demand and future growth in industry, decades of underinvestment in technology development and infrastructure, reduction of academic education and research programs, and the aging industry workforce. These have necessitated increases and innovation in university activities, programs, and funding for power and energy engineering, for which the Power & Energy Initiative provides a direct response.

Students from the diverse engineering disciplines represented within the initiative and from other related areas have shown a strong interest in power and energy fields, evident from recent course enrollments, senior design project topics, and both graduate and undergraduate research activities. In parallel, the power and energy industries are anticipating the need for a significant number of new hires and a ‘new generation’ of power and energy engineering professionals, highlighted recently by new full-time, internship, and cooperative program placements of students with educational backgrounds in these fields.