Say Hello To Your 2020 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition Participants
The U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office announced 15 intrepid collegiate teams to embark on the first-ever Marine Energy Collegiate Competition. The colleges and universities selected to take part are:
- Boise State University
- Center for Energy Harvesting Materials and Systems at Virginia Tech
- College of the Florida Keys
- Columbia University, partnering with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Delhi Technological University
- Virginia Tech, partnering with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of The West Indies Cave Hill Campus
- North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University
- Universidad Ana G. Mendez
- University of California, Berkeley
- University of Hawaii at Manoa
- University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
- University of Minnesota – Duluth, partnering with University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
- University of New Hampshire
- University of New Mexico
- University of North Florida
These students will have the chance to contribute their ideas directly to an industry that’s still evolving right now: marine energy. The technologies that are developed have the chance to impact blue economy markets, an emerging research area with the potential to bring together scientists and technical experts from all backgrounds. Students can choose to explore desalination, offshore marine aquaculture, ocean observation, or any of the other markets identified in DOE’s “Powering the Blue Economy” report.
Teams of undergraduate and graduate students will get real-world experience exploring these innovative marine energy solutions to address power needs across the blue economy. Students will:
- Develop a 15- to 25-page market research-supported business plan and conceptual-level technical design of a marketable device that powers a sector of the blue economy
- Present a 15-minute public pitch that will be shared at the International Conference on Ocean Energy (ICOE) 2020
- Create a nonworking yet visually representative table-top scale model of the technology concept to be displayed at ICOE 2020, along with a poster summarizing the technical and business plans.
Teams will deliver their written submissions, market assessment, business pitches, and preliminary technology designs for their chosen market opportunity at ICOE in Washington, D.C., in May.
Teams participating in the competition and anyone interested in learning more about design methods for marine energy devices can attend a free webinar on Nov. 20, from 5–6:30 p.m. MST titled, Marine Energy Collegiate Competition Design Methods. The webinar will give a brief introduction to design theory, why it matters, and what insights it may offer to the marine energy industry, followed by an overview of three distinct design methodologies focused on during conceptual design stages.