主要研究 今天

A system that generates fresh water from the ocean — powered by the ocean —propelled an interdisciplinary team of 主要研究 students to third place in the national Marine Energy Collegiate Competition (作为国内) hosted by the U.S. 能源部 和 国家可再生能源实验室. 由9名工程和商业专业的学生组成的团队, 由机械与海洋工程教授指导 马丁Wosnik 土木与环境工程教授 艾琳·贝尔在来自全国各地的17支队伍中竞争.

的 作为国内 calls on multidisciplinary teams of undergraduate and graduate students to propose new ideas for marine energy to capture the power of the ocean. Marine energy has the potential to provide clean energy to remote and island communities and for 蓝色经济 applications such as ocean observation technology or desalination systems.

Joseph Camobreco ’22 (mechanical engineering) and Tori Sweet ’22 (environmental engineering) co-led the team. Additional members were Sam Williams ’22 (environmental engineering), Alexander Charest ' 22(机械工程), Andrew LePage ' 22(海洋工程), Devan Sack ' 22(土木工程), 梅根·威金22岁(土木工程), 切尔西·金博尔18岁, 23岁(机械工程)和24岁(商业)的布兰登·里根.

“的 students did a great job connecting across their disciplines and coming up with innovative solutions to difficult, 现实问题,贝尔说。. “的y had a lot of enthusiasm; we just pointed them in the right direction and let them go.”

“的 students did a great job connecting across their disciplines and coming up with innovative solutions to difficult, 现实问题.”

他们的获奖项目, 主要研究海岸波浪反渗透系统, aimed to produce fresh water for remote island and coastal communities with limited access to energy or fresh water. 的便宜的, easy-to-install design tapped the power of ocean waves to drive a hydraulic piston that pressurizes water and filters it through a reverse osmosis membrane.

的 team wrote a 30-page techno-economic report and presented to an expert panel of judges recruited from marine energy industry professionals. 的 competition also included a poster presentation session and social events. 学生们分析了市场可行性, 概述了研究和产品开发计划, 评估风险-环境, technical and societal — and conducted a detailed financial analysis for their product.

浅滩海洋实验室 on Appledore Island served as a local case study for the feasibility of the project; other communities that could benefit include the Marshall Islands, 毛里求斯和缅因湾的其他岛屿.

“的 作为国内 is a great opportunity for students to get some real experience in marine energy,沃斯尼克说, 谁还领导着新的能源部资助的 大西洋海洋能源中心. “的 作为国内 organizers are doing a great job connecting students to industry experts and providing relevant seminars and educational experiences throughout.”