Overview
Undergraduate research in an essential component of undergraduate education in engineering. At Greater Allegheny, research opportunities are available both in and out of the classroom. Summer internships are also available for more intensive research experiences.
Current Undergraduate Research Projects:
Lab-Scale Smart Energy Grid
We can expect alternative energy sources such as wind and solar to increase its role in securing the delivery of electricity in the future. These intermittent and sometimes unpredictable sources will cause a strain on the already troubled electric grid. One way to help mitigate this strain is to develop smart grids that carefully monitor and control energy production and consumption. Students are designing and building a Lab-Scale Microgrid to combine wind turbine, solar panels, gravity storage and battery storage to deliver electricity to varying consumers. This lab-scale project combines programming, electronics, and various electricity-generating sources into one system that can be monitored from a computer. Students work with the Energy Engineering faculty in courses and over the summer.
Water Sensor Development and Water Monitoring
Low-cost sensors are making it possible to monitor environmental conditions where it was otherwise unaffordable to do so. This project uses various low-cost sensors to monitor water quality. The low cost allows for an affordable network of monitors to be deployed, helping to monitor both local and regional water quality. Students participate in building electronic devices, programming, case design and prototyping, and data collection and analysis. This faculty-led research happens both as part of the SECURE (Science and Engineering Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experience) program and the MCREU (Multi-campus Research Experience) through the College of Engineering.
