| March 20 , 2009 | Vol. 3. No.5 |
IN THIS ISSUE: MMPEI and U-M NEWS, ENERGY NEWS, FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES, UPCOMING EVENTS
MMPEI and U-M NEWS
University of Michigan seeks federal energy grant dollars
A sudden boom in federal renewable energy research spending has ignited excitement among University of Michigan scientists, who have begun mobilizing to obtain grants. The university is actively lobbying its contacts in Washington, D.C. in hopes of securing a significant piece of new energy spending specified in the $787 billion economic stimulus package and the 2009 federal budget. Meanwhile, experts are projecting a major bump in federal spending for energy research in the pending 2010 budget. "In the context of all this, the University of Michigan is very well positioned," said Stephen Forrest, U-M's vice president for research and a major proponent of alternative energy technology. Forrest and Sarah Walter, U-M's director of federal relations for research, spoke March 12 at the Energy Workshop: Forging Alliances, Positioning for Opportunity organized by U-M's Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute.
Ann Arbor could lead the electric vehicle charge
"Every energy problem that you can imagine, I like to say, exists under the hood of a car," said Stephen Forrest, University of Michigan's vice president for research, at a private U-M energy workshop March 12. "We're reinventing the automobile for the first time since Henry Ford and Daimler and those folks invented the internal combustion engine. But we have to electrify the vehicle. It's happening."
Final round of Clean Energy Prize competition set for March 20
Three teams of student entrepreneurs will make the final pitch of their clean-energy business plans to a panel of judges, who then will select the winner of the Clean Energy Prize competition. The teams with winning ideas will share $100,000 in prize money
Greener computer data centers
By 2011, the nation's computer data centers will consume more power than 8 million average U.S. households. A new strategy cuts down on their energy waste by putting servers to sleep when they're not in use. Listen to the podcast with MMPEI's Thomas Wenisch.
U-M in global challenge to power down for the planet
Power Down for the Planet is on at University of Michigan, a founding member of the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. Organized by Climate Savers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star program, Power Down for the Planet is a global challenge between leading universities to reduce carbon emissions by conserving energy on personal computers through power management settings and using Energy Star-qualified equipment.
ENERGY NEWS
DOE outlines stimulus package energy initiatives for each state
Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu, “Each of the ten initiatives … will put Americans back to work and begin to transform the way we use energy. We will reduce our carbon emissions and create entire new industries based on America’s resources, America’s ingenuity, and America’s workers – and these will be jobs that can’t be outsourced.”Among the ten areas of interest are renewable energy projects, smart grid technology and transmission infrastructure, next generation biofuels and battery research and advanced vehicle technologies. To learn more visit http://www.energy.gov/recovery/.
Study finds wind power advantages -- with grid improvements
Wind-generated electricity from the upper Midwest will become cost-competitive with power generated from more conventional fuel sources like coal, while providing substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions when connected to the nation’s electricity grid via new extra-high voltage transmission lines, a new study by The Brattle Group (www.brattle.com) has concluded. For another story on wind power in Michigan visit here.
A better battery? The lithium ion cell gets supercharged
A new technique could pave the way for improving the workhorse lithium ion battery used in automobiles, cell phones and other devices so that it can recharge in seconds
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Geothermal Systems Research - Due 04/30/09
DOE is requesting proposals in geothermal research in the following topic areas: air cooling; drilling systems; high temperature downhole tools; high-volume lifting and pumping; zonal isolation; integrated chemical, thermal and hydrological modeling; image fluid flow; induced seismicity; geophysical exploration technologies; stimulation Prediction Models; geothermal analysis; smart tracers; supercritical carbon dioxide/reservoir rock chemical interactions; tracers and tracer interpretation; and working fluids for binary power plants. This is funding opportunity DE-PS36-09GO99018.
Hydrogen Sensor Technologies - Due 04/30/09
The goal of this Funding Opportunity Announcement, DE-PS36-09GO99004, is to develop low-cost sensor technologies that can be directly integrated with hydrogen systems and are resistant to contaminants. The sensor must detect/measure hydrogen in situ. For each sensor project, an applicant must explain how a proposed technology will exceed the current state of the art. The goal is to develop a sensing technology for determination of hydrogen presence prior to reaching a flammable mixture. Sensors should be suitable for at least one of the following applications: stationary systems, portable devices, transportation, or infrastructure.
Petroleum Reduction Technologies - Due 05/29/09
Under this funding opportunity, DE-PS26-09NT01236-04, National Energy Technology Laboratory funds are being offered for cost-shared projects that expand the use of alternative fueled vehicles and advanced technology vehicles. The installation or acquisition of infrastructure necessary to directly support an alternative fueled vehicle or advanced technology vehicle is also eligible. Operation and maintenance of vehicles, infrastructure and other associated equipment acquired through the program are also allowable within specified limits.
Visit http://www.energy.umich.edu/info/index.html for additional funding opportunities.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Power Down for the Planet
March 23 - April 17
Join other eco-conscious students and campus communities in the movement to reduce the energy consumption of computers. Visit http://www.powerdownfortheplanet.org/ and http://www.climatesavers.umich.edu/ for details.
SNRE - New Alliances, New Strategies: Energy, the Economy and the Changing Face of the Conservation Movement
Thursday, March 26
4:00 - 5:30pm
1040 Dana Building
440 Church Street
Speakers: Elise Jones and Joe Short
Visit http://www.energy.umich.edu/careers/opportunities for information on University of Michigan open faculty positions and opportunites in energy research.
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