Four leading research universities with strong engineering and energy research programs (West Virginia University, Carnegie Mellon University, Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Pittsburgh) have decided to pool their talents to form the Tri-State University Energy Alliance.
The aim of the alliance is to accelerate their combined capability to address global resource consumption issues.
These include the creation of next-generation energy tech, increasing the efficiency of energy distribution and usage in current-gen technology, and taking a well-rounded approach to confronting the implementation barriers that can be encountered when adopting new technologies on a large scale.
Inter-State Cooperation
The decision to cross institutional and state boundaries in the pursuit of a cleaner future creates a number of advantages. For example, it grants these institutions the opportunity to compare multiple sets of demographic factors across participating states, which can affect decision making around green energy initiatives.
These factors include things such as state legislation surrounding the pricing and taxation of utilities, availability of grants and incentives for businesses to switch to newer technology, and how the varying economic specialties of each region can affect the willingness (or resistance) to investing in modern innovations.
What Does Each School Bring to the Table?
Looking at these factors, West Virginia University (WVU) leads the pack of research teams, boasting a number of research groups focused on maximizing the effectiveness of research findings in a real world context through an understanding of multi-disciplinary factors affecting the use of new tech.
Among these group members are their engineering department's collaboration with the School of Economics in the Bureau of Business and Economic Research, the Center for Sustainability and Development, the John D. Rockefeller IV School of Policy and Politics, and the Regional Research Institute.
Similarly, Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) prides itself on understanding how to best capture greater monetary resources in order to push energy research forward. Their proven success in fostering the engagement of business interests with energy issues combined with WVU's sprawling demographic approach make for a potent partnership.
“We’re committed to working together to enhance the region’s resources towards energy innovation,” said Alexis Abramson, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and director of the Great Lakes Energy Institute at Case Western Reserve. “In so doing, we look to create a stronger regional energy ecosystem.”
The remaining two partners in the alliance bring a resume of modernization to combine with WVU and CWRU's talent for grasping institutional issues.
On multiple occasions, the team at Carnegie Mellon University's Scott Institute for Energy Innovation have made the scientific community take notice of their innovations, such as their development of new communication architectures to help protect US power grids from hacking and other security threats, and advanced batteries to increase the efficiency of wind turbines by adjusting for variable demand.
While the other members of the Tri-State University Energy Alliance are by no means technological lightweights, the sheer impact of the Scott Institute cannot be ignored.
They will find a great deal of overlap with the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Energy, which has a number of ongoing research projects aimed at improving the efficiency of energy capture, distribution, and usage in both current and renewable energy sources. One of their feature projects focuses on using nanotube surfaces to capture end-product waste carbon in order to create cleaner energy.
Collaboration Efforts May Face Challenges
However, the coordination and cooperation of four large research institutions also presents a number of new challenges. While research partnerships are by no means rare, the number of departments involved in the alliance could potentially pose difficulties in organization with respect to funding allocation, cross-campus projects, and communication.
According to a press release from CWRU, it was stated that members would “discuss energy initiatives and activities, collaboration opportunities [..] and enable students and faculty to connect,” but the Alliance has yet to specify how this connection will be supported.
With the amount of moving parts at play, the creation of an infrastructure that is capable of facilitating productive conversation and project building between four different university campuses will need to be as high a priority as the research objectives themselves.
The Tri-State University Energy Alliance carries with it enough intellectual bulk to make it a hotbed of technological revolution, but these institutions must ensure they construct enough of a scaffolding to not fold under its own weight.
For more information, visit the websites for Case Western Reserve University, Carnegie Mellon University, West Virginia University and the University of Pittsburgh.
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