LIBRARY
Efficient and Reliable Power Takeoff for Ocean Wave Energy Harvesting
TYPE: PROJECT
Sponsors: Department of Energy, Sub-awardee of General Motors
ABSTRACT
The goals of the proposed project are first to train the next generation of U.S. citizen power engineers with WBG power semiconductor expertise, thus aiding in fulfilling the future workforce needs in this field. Second, to broaden the range of WBG-based power electronics by conducting research and development on high-efficiency grid apparatus and high-efficiency electrical power systems. And third, to enhance the power engineering curriculum by formalizing WBG-oriented design procedures for power electronics components and systems that can effectively integrate the inherent, challenging material characteristics of these devices, which have effectively rendered design procedures for Silicon (Si) based power electronics obsolete. This project expects to graduate 10 MS students during its 5 years of execution, fund the first two years of 10 PhD students, and fund the first year of 5 additional MS and PhD students. In this period of time, 3â5 PhD students will expectedly graduate from Virginia Tech having passed through the proposed traineeship, and 5â10 more will do so in the following years. In all, a total of 45 graduate student assistantships will expectedly have been granted throughout the five years of the WBGen program. This will not only have an immense impact on the success of the WBGs research programs at Virginia Tech, but will consequently spring immeasurably positive effect on the power engineering workforce over the next 5 to 10 years. Furthermore, the DOE and DOD laboratory and industrial partnership established in the traineeship will also benefit significantly from the interaction with the participating graduate students, cementing what are already strong relationships between the partners and CPES, and CPE, into a solid network of power engineering training, research and development.)
