The Places You’ll Go
Energy research opportunities for undergraduates lead to global destinations — and clear career paths
The places you'll go
Energy research opportunities for undergraduates lead to global destinations — and clear career pathsBy Susan Messina
This past June, Abby McConnell and Allison File made plans to meet for a weekend in Berlin. The mechanical engineering majors were taking a well-deserved break from summer programs at different universities in Germany, where each was delving into their favorite topic — renewable energy.
“We spent hours at the Futurium, a museum dedicated to envisioning a more sustainable future,” said File. “We explored the exhibits, amazed at all the current alternative energy technologies that have been put in place throughout the world.”
She and McConnell arrived in Germany intellectually prepared to dig into the complex projects presented by their international hosts. Over the previous academic year, they had been part of a team led by Wes Williams ’09 Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering technology, as it completed the final stages of Waves to Water, a multi-year, $3.3 million U.S. Department of Energy national competition designed to spur development of small, modular wave-energy-powered systems to desalinate ocean water — and provide fresh water to coastal and island communities hit by natural disasters.
Energizing Their Futures
McConnell, whose Waves to Water experience cemented a choice to pursue a career in wave energy research, spent the summer at the Hamburg Institute of Technology’s Institute of Mechanics and Ocean Engineering. There she was immersed in a project related to the design and optimization of a wave energy converter using simulation and wave tank experiments.
“Because oceans provide a constant source of energy, wave technology holds a lot of promise,” she said. “I can say without a doubt that my summer experience not only significantly increased my knowledge of wave energy, it enabled me to learn a new CFD (computational fluid dynamics) program, helped me improve my skills in running complex simulations and calculations, and challenged me to think creatively to solve problems.”
Renewable energy emerged for File as an academic, research and career focus through electives in the engineering curriculum’s energy concentration. Interested initially in biomedical engineering, File “found her calling” and changed direction as she learned about energy grid expansion to areas experiencing energy poverty and utilized data from Duke Energy to conceive a future energy grid designed to meet North Carolina’s 2050 carbon neutral goals.
Her interest intensified when she founded SolCooking, a nonprofit dedicated to developing efficient and affordable solar cookers for healthy meal preparation by people in homeless communities. It expanded further through an internship with Duke Energy, where she worked with a specialized team that supports hydroelectric plants throughout the region.
By Susan Messina
This past June, Abby McConnell and Allison File made plans to meet for a weekend in Berlin. The mechanical engineering majors were taking a well-deserved break from summer programs at different universities in Germany, where each was delving into their favorite topic — renewable energy.
“We spent hours at the Futurium, a museum dedicated to envisioning a more sustainable future,” said File. “We explored the exhibits, amazed at all the current alternative energy technologies that have been put in place throughout the world.”
She and McConnell arrived in Germany intellectually prepared to dig into the complex projects presented by their international hosts. Over the previous academic year, they had been part of a team led by Wes Williams ’09 Ph.D., associate professor of mechanical engineering technology, as it completed the final stages of Waves to Water, a multi-year, $3.3 million U.S. Department of Energy national competition designed to spur development of small, modular wave-energy-powered systems to desalinate ocean water — and provide fresh water to coastal and island communities hit by natural disasters.
Energizing Their Futures
McConnell, whose Waves to Water experience cemented a choice to pursue a career in wave energy research, spent the summer at the Hamburg Institute of Technology’s Institute of Mechanics and Ocean Engineering. There she was immersed in a project related to the design and optimization of a wave energy converter using simulation and wave tank experiments.
“Because oceans provide a constant source of energy, wave technology holds a lot of promise,” she said. “I can say without a doubt that my summer experience not only significantly increased my knowledge of wave energy, it enabled me to learn a new CFD (computational fluid dynamics) program, helped me improve my skills in running complex simulations and calculations, and challenged me to think creatively to solve problems.”
Renewable energy emerged for File as an academic, research and career focus through electives in the engineering curriculum’s energy concentration. Interested initially in biomedical engineering, File “found her calling” and changed direction as she learned about energy grid expansion to areas experiencing energy poverty and utilized data from Duke Energy to conceive a future energy grid designed to meet North Carolina’s 2050 carbon neutral goals.
Her interest intensified when she founded SolCooking, a nonprofit dedicated to developing efficient and affordable solar cookers for healthy meal preparation by people in homeless communities. It expanded further through an internship with Duke Energy, where she worked with a specialized team that supports hydroelectric plants throughout the region.
Involvement with Waves to Water came on the heels of an introduction to Williams, who had stepped up to mentor File and her SolCooking partners as they took steps to manufacture their product prototype through Ventureprise, UNC Charlotte’s innovation and entrepreneurship center.
These varied experiences add up to a broad interest in renewable energy — reflected in File’s choice for summer study at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, where she knew she would learn more about energy grid technology. Once there, she — alongside four other Niner engineering students — applied knowledge acquired at Charlotte about heat transfer and fluid mechanics to learning CFD as well as to work that centered on the effect of viscosity on the performance and internal flow of molten salt pumps in solar power plants.
“Waves to Water was a huge help in preparing for this experience — from learning to work on a team to evaluating ideas to conducting research,” File said. “In turn, I returned to Charlotte with a new body of knowledge that I’ll apply to future research and my senior design project.”
Involvement with Waves to Water came on the heels of an introduction to Williams, who had stepped up to mentor File and her SolCooking partners as they took steps to manufacture their product prototype through Ventureprise, UNC Charlotte’s innovation and entrepreneurship center.
These varied experiences add up to a broad interest in renewable energy — reflected in File’s choice for summer study at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, where she knew she would learn more about energy grid technology. Once there, she — alongside four other Niner engineering students — applied knowledge acquired at Charlotte about heat transfer and fluid mechanics to learning CFD as well as to work that centered on the effect of viscosity on the performance and internal flow of molten salt pumps in solar power plants.
“Waves to Water was a huge help in preparing for this experience — from learning to work on a team to evaluating ideas to conducting research,” File said. “In turn, I returned to Charlotte with a new body of knowledge that I’ll apply to future research and my senior design project.”
THE VALUE OF MENTORSHIP
Wes Williams recognizes early in a semester the students most likely to stand out.
“High-performing students possess not only a high aptitude for engineering’s foundational principles but also a drive to ask difficult questions that have complex answers,” he explained. “Hands-on opportunities bring to life concepts learned in class for all students. They are acutely crucial for those who excel so they can push themselves and uncover their true capacity and potential.”
Dedicated to cultivating engineering talent for a field that evolves at the hurried pace of new discoveries, Williams makes a point to connect students with opportunities that develop their interests, particularly when they show promise in research. Occasionally, he meets them even before they enroll at UNC Charlotte. He first met Abby McConnell while serving as a volunteer judge for a high school robotics competition, where she and her hometown Asheville teammates were contestants. He got to know Allison File, from Denver, North Carolina, who, like Williams, is a graduate of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, through her work with Ventureprise.
Recalling her experience with the SolCooking prototype, File said, “Dr. Williams was extremely supportive and helpful with our ideas from the beginning. Working with him greatly helped our design process and led to greater understanding of how manufacturing is considered in planning.”
THE VALUE OF MENTORSHIP
Wes Williams recognizes early in a semester the students most likely to stand out.
“High-performing students possess not only a high aptitude for engineering’s foundational principles but also a drive to ask difficult questions that have complex answers,” he explained. “Hands-on opportunities bring to life concepts learned in class for all students. They are acutely crucial for those who excel so they can push themselves and uncover their true capacity and potential.”
Dedicated to cultivating engineering talent for a field that evolves at the hurried pace of new discoveries, Williams makes a point to connect students with opportunities that develop their interests, particularly when they show promise in research. Occasionally, he meets them even before they enroll at UNC Charlotte. He first met Abby McConnell while serving as a volunteer judge for a high school robotics competition, where she and her hometown Asheville teammates were contestants. He got to know Allison File, from Denver, North Carolina, who, like Williams, is a graduate of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, through her work with Ventureprise.
Recalling her experience with the SolCooking prototype, File said, “Dr. Williams was extremely supportive and helpful with our ideas from the beginning. Working with him greatly helped our design process and led to greater understanding of how manufacturing is considered in planning.”
Motion of the ocean
Over the past two years, Williams and his Waves to Water team, WATERBROS (Wave-Actuated Tethered Emergency Response Buoyant Reverse Osmosis System), advanced through the competition’s stages. Adding accomplished and curious students to the team gave them a chance to experience real-life engineering applications as they contributed to WATERBROS’ success.
In Williams’ vast, garagelike campus lab, McConnell and File worked with Williams and his WATERBROS business partner Landon Mackey to refine the team’s prototype for the final round. To do so, they learned to operate a lathe and a CNC (computer numerical control) machine, an instrument programmed to deliver a level of accuracy impossible to achieve manually, and hone techniques to machine various materials to precise sizes and properties.
At the conclusion of the competition’s final stage in spring 2022 at Nags Head in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, WATERBROS finished second overall and was awarded $178,000 in prize money to continue its work and prepare for private investment and commercial scale-up. This fall, Williams and team presented their research at the Marine Energy Technology Symposium in Portland, Oregon, and the International Conference on Ocean Energy in Spain.
Looking ahead
McConnell says being part of Waves to Water has “kept excitement for engineering more alive than ever.” File describes the experience as “transformative” as she now better understands the engineering design process from concept to calculations to a product that can accomplish its intended goal.
As for the future, both are optimistic about the potential — and, in their opinions, inevitability — of renewable energy. And they remain deeply committed to playing a role in its implementation.
“The key to success for alternative energy is education,” said McConnell. “Teaching people what it means, making sure engineering students understand it, and making kids aware of all its opportunities will be vitally important.” File agrees and added, “As long as there are people who care and are passionate about making a difference, there is hope for moving forward to a more sustainable future.”
Susan Messina is director of strategic content for University Communications.
Motion of the ocean
Over the past two years, Williams and his Waves to Water team, WATERBROS (Wave-Actuated Tethered Emergency Response Buoyant Reverse Osmosis System), advanced through the competition’s stages. Adding accomplished and curious students to the team gave them a chance to experience real-life engineering applications as they contributed to WATERBROS’ success.
In Williams’ vast, garagelike campus lab, McConnell and File worked with Williams and his WATERBROS business partner Landon Mackey to refine the team’s prototype for the final round. To do so, they learned to operate a lathe and a CNC (computer numerical control) machine, an instrument programmed to deliver a level of accuracy impossible to achieve manually, and hone techniques to machine various materials to precise sizes and properties.
At the conclusion of the competition’s final stage in spring 2022 at Nags Head in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, WATERBROS finished second overall and was awarded $178,000 in prize money to continue its work and prepare for private investment and commercial scale-up. This fall, Williams and team presented their research at the Marine Energy Technology Symposium in Portland, Oregon, and the International Conference on Ocean Energy in Spain.
Looking ahead
McConnell says being part of Waves to Water has “kept excitement for engineering more alive than ever.” File describes the experience as “transformative” as she now better understands the engineering design process from concept to calculations to a product that can accomplish its intended goal.
As for the future, both are optimistic about the potential — and, in their opinions, inevitability — of renewable energy. And they remain deeply committed to playing a role in its implementation.
“The key to success for alternative energy is education,” said McConnell. “Teaching people what it means, making sure engineering students understand it, and making kids aware of all its opportunities will be vitally important.” File agrees and added, “As long as there are people who care and are passionate about making a difference, there is hope for moving forward to a more sustainable future.”
Susan Messina is director of strategic content for University Communications.
