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Three LU engineering seniors take top honors Three Lamar University senior electrical engineering seniors took top honors in the Annual Center for the Commercialization of Electric Technologies/ Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Student Design Contest. Taking first place were team leader Henry Eads, a graduate of Westbrook High School in Beaumont, and Max Morgan, also a graduate of Westbrook H.S., and Aaron Hall, a graduate of Spurger High School. The three are enrolled in the Senior Design course taught by Harley Myler, Mitchell Chair of Engineering, and the competition they entered and the subsequent $2,000 prize they won was a result of their senior design project for the course. The Center for the Commercialization of Electric Technologies (CCET) in Austin sponsors the annual student design contest in cooperation with IEEE Region 5. CCET is a consortium of electric utilities, high technology firms, research companies, and university researchers committed to advancing the power market by increasing the reliability, security, power quality, and efficiency of electric power.
Thank you to ExxonMobil for Generous Grants in the following Departments:
Chemical Engineering Civil Engineering Electrical Engineering Mechanical Engineering
This grant totals in the amount of $15,000 which provides financial support for furthering Lamar University students growth in their education, development of highly qualified teachers and professional development opportunities.
Their product focus has been on "smart grid" technologies particularly at the distribution and end user segments. The problems posed to the students are real ones faced by the electric utility industry that may be applied in the field as practical solutions. Thus, the students have the satisfaction of knowing that they are working on a solution to problems faced by the electric utilities and/or the green technology industry.
The students’ project was named I.C.A.R.U.S. for Integration and Control of Alternative Resources for Utility Systems. The students submitted a paper detailing a hypothetical expansion for the King Mountain Wind Farm near McCamey, Texas. The expansion incorporated solar arrays and battery storage. Ultimately, the design served to increase load factor and facilitate more reliable and consistent power production.
Unlike previous years where designs were focused on specific pieces of equipment (e.g., devices to predict transformer failure), in the 2011-2012 student design contest student teams were asked to design a power system enhancement to complement an existing wind farm. Student designs were asked to add battery storage and solar photovoltaic arrays, and consider the adequacy of supporting infrastructure (e.g., substations, inverters,) to improve the load factor of utility scale renewable energy to the grid and evaluate overall economics.
The design included a complete operations algorithm to simplify and optimize management and control as well as ensure safety. The algorithm considered several operational scenarios, including normal and emergency conditions. In addition, the design took into account various economic considerations to determine the overall feasibility of the project. The data will also assist in various decisions throughout the project, including the choice of equipment and the decision on whether or not to include battery storage.
Honored Cardinal Alumnus A native of Port Arthur, Bob Jones graduated in 1973 with a B.S. in civil engineering with the environmental track and later earned his master of engineering degrees from UT in Austin. The Texas Water Quality Board hired him in July 1973. Jones advanced at the state, eventually becoming Chief Engineer of the Construction Grants and Water Quality Planning Division. In 1976, Bob met and married Beth, his wife of 37 years. The couple has two children. Recognizing the opportunity to create a business helping industry and local governments deal with the ever-increasing volume of environmental regulation, Jones left the state in 1982 with another engineer and formed the consulting company, Jones and Neuse. By the early 90s, it was one of the largest independently owned environmental consulting companies in the state, with more than 250 employees in seven offices, including offices in Louisiana and Mexico. The company was purchased and merged with another engineering company, RMT. Jones stayed with RMT for two years, and, in 1997, Jones and a friend formed another consulting company, JDC Consulting. JDC grew to be a preferred provider of environmental services to many Fortune 100 process industries, including most of the big industries in Southeast Texas. In 2007, the London-based international consulting company RPS purchased JDC. Jones stayed with RPS until February 2012. In March, Jones formed RSJ Consulting, and began working part-time for some of his long-time industry clients. During the last 30 years, Jones has been active in Boy Scouts, YMCA and Oak Hill Pony Baseball, as well as in numerous other Austin-area organization. He serves on the college of Engineering Advisory Council, as a trustee of the Lamar University Foundation, and was a member of the Lamar Board of Regents from 1993 until 1996.