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Washington Clean Energy Testbeds launches Undergraduate Research Awards

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1715629295177{margin-top: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]UW students Sebastian Bustos-Nuno, Vyvyan Dao, Lily Leaverton, Joy Lee win grants to perform novel clean energy research at the UW’s open-access labs for climate tech innovation[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="10px"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1715798700907{margin-top: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]May 15, 2024[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="10px"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1715106075945{margin-top: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]The Washington Clean Energy Testbeds, an open-access lab for climate technology innovation operated by the University of Washington (UW)’s Clean Energy Institute, has established a student award to support undergraduate research in clean energy, advanced manufacturing, and related fields.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="10px"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1715625128365{margin-top: 10px !important;margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]Thanks to a generous philanthropic gift to CEI's Innovation Fund, UW undergraduate students in their...

An enlightening opportunity: solar scalability

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1697481714211{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]By Brooke Fisher | Photos by Dennis Wise October 16, 2023 This article has been condensed from its original form on the UW College of Engineering website. [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height="20px"][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1697477807960{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]At a top-tier research institution like the UW, research doesn’t take a summer break. In addition to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, many College of Engineering labs host undergraduates during the summer months, giving the students a unique, hands-on experience conducting cutting-edge engineering research alongside faculty.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1697477819113{margin-bottom: 20px !important;}"]The exchange is a win-win: Students can pursue ideas and interests that they’re passionate about, and in the process they sharpen their analysis, communication, design...

Preparing tomorrow’s clean energy leaders

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][mkd_section_title title="A multi-disciplinary course is training students across the scales of clean energy — from materials and devices to storage and power grid integration." title_size="small" title_color="" title_text_align="" margin_bottom="" width=""][vc_empty_space height="16px"][vc_column_text]December 12, 2022 By Chelsea Yates | Photos by Dennis Wise / University of Washington[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]“I’ve grown up witnessing climate change first-hand — more severe wildfires, draught, hurricanes, and the list keeps growing unfortunately,” says materials science and engineering (MSE) graduate student Arun Sundar. “We need to understand the broader effects of climate change, and we need to take action.” For him, this has meant a course of study in energy storage and emerging energy technologies. Sundar decided...

Microgrids for education and energy sovereignty

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1647562110902{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]After founding Northwest Indian College's first engineering program, Stephanie Bostwick aims to bring clean energy to her classroom — and to the Lummi Nation.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1647562120695{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]March 18, 2022[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1648241914503{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]Growing up in Spokane, WA with Blackfeet heritage, Stephanie Bostwick dreamed of becoming an astronaut. But after her first year of college, she realized she needed a new plan for financially supporting herself, so she decided to enlist in the Naval Nuclear Program, knowing upon completion her education would be fully funded. After finishing her service, she attended Edmonds College to complete an Engineering Transfer program, then earned both a...

The technology to reach net-zero carbon emissions isn’t ready for prime time, but…

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1629999372609{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]It’s already under development in research labs.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1629999391926{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]August 25, 2021[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1629999462620{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]By Daniel T. Schwartz | Originally published in Scientific American[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1629999477119{padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]U.S. climate envoy John Kerry recently stated that in order to reach net zero emission goals by 2045, we’ll “need technologies we don’t yet have.” Well, he’s half right. It’s true that battling climate change requires innovative, technologically driven ideas that can be tested, replicated and scaled, at warp speed. But inventing wholly new technology isn’t necessarily the answer, nor is the idea we can deploy today's technology all the way to 100 percent clean energy.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1629999489451{padding-bottom:...

Samson A. Jenekhe’s pioneering polymer work paved the way for commercial OLEDs

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1614189512200{padding-bottom: 5px !important;}"]His semiconducting polymers, found in displays and solar cells, emerged from decades of careful engineering[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1614189522440{padding-top: 5px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;}"]February 22, 2021[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1614191310168{padding-top: 5px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;}"]By Jermey N. A. Matthews | Originally published in Chemical & Engineering News[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1614189503001{padding-top: 5px !important;}"]In polymer science, it pays to be persistent. University of Washington chemical engineer Samson A. Jenekhe has dedicated decades of research in the lab to understanding and optimizing the properties of semiconducting polymers. In recent years, this persistence has paid off, with some of his work leading to advances that enabled new consumer products—including the glowing screen you might be holding...

Designing cutting-edge materials from home

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1598373898336{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]UW professors Ting Cao and Xiaosong Li bring computational science to the virtual classroom during COVID-19[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1598377715538{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]August 25, 2020[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1598373907152{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]When Governor Jay Inslee issued the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order to combat the spread of COVID-19 on March 23rd, University of Washington scientists and engineers faced a new challenge: how could they continue to experiment, innovate, and learn while most labs were closed?[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=".vc_custom_1598373915648{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;}"]For materials science & engineering (MSE) professor Ting Cao and chemistry professor Xiaosong Li, both Clean Energy Institute (CEI) member faculty, the shift to...