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At area colleges, energy generates more than electricity

MIT students recently showed off a battery-operated Porsche. Engineers at UMass-Lowell are in negotiations with a company interested in developing solar-powered golf carts, and a Northeastern University doctoral candidate is working on a sensor system to locate new sources of water.

The push for new forms of energy is on, and the need for qualified people who can help make it happen in Massachusetts is growing. Universities are responding to the demand with new programs in energy conversion and expansion of existing programs in engineering and earth and environmental sciences. MIT, for one, now has 34 laboratories, centers, and programs with energy-related research, ranging from the Alliance for Global Sustainability to the Center for 21st Century Energy.

"Power and energy are where it's at right now," says Professor Craig Armiento, who heads the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at UMass-Lowell. "For many years, power engineering was considered old-school stuff, and the emphasis was on computers. Now, energy is the hot topic, and we have to prepare students to meet a wide variety of challenges."

To that end, UMass-Lowell offers a graduate certificate in energy conversion. "Everyone's looking for ways to go green," says Armiento. "We have lots of research opportunities for students to participate in, including solar, wind, fuel-cell technology, and battery research. We have a program in solar engineering in remote areas, and the mechanical engineering department goes to Peru each year to install solar panels in remote villages to generate electricity. We even have a class on electric cars."

After the students get the basic education in any or all of these areas, Armiento says, companies like National Grid and NSTAR, as well as developers and construction firms trying to build green buildings, are eager to hire them.

"Recently, there's been a move for the state to fund the life sciences," says Armiento. "We're hoping to create a similar program for energy research, and we've created a UMass clean energy working group, which recently released a report looking at all the aspects of energy use across the entire UMass system. The effort will be to use that model for other businesses, and look for ways to make sure UMass is a player in the energy economy of the state."

Armiento says UMass-Lowell has already had some success, with a company called Konarka, which spun off from the university and is working on advanced photovoltaic technology in the city of Lowell. "Students and companies now feel a sense of urgency," Armiento says, "and that will definitely drive the field and the career opportunities."

At Boston's Northeastern University, energy students can study hard science or management, in an interdisciplinary approach.

"We offer students the choice of following a policy track or a science track, for a bachelor's degree in environmental studies," says Professor Todd Fritch of Northeastern's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. "We have a course called Energy for Today and Tomorrow that looks at traditional energy sources, environmental impacts, and efforts to find efficiencies for new energy sources like biomasses. We also offer a course called Science, Technology, and Society, which gives students a broad range of topics. The idea is to give you enough rooting in hard science so that you can speak that language and bridge the gap between policy makers and scientists."

Fritch says graduates have found work in non-governmental organizations; local, state, and federal agencies; consulting firms; and larger design and building firms.

"It's a competitive field right now," adds Fritch, "so it's essential that students have access to the latest and best research."