Possible Graduate Certificate Program in
Renewable Energy for George Mason
Robert Ehrlich
November, 2009
Background
Mason began an undergraduate minor in renewable energy in Fall 2009. It also began a sustainability studies minor the same time.. As coordinator for the renewable energy minor, I have received a number of inquiries from students who were asking if we offered anything at the graduate level, which stimulated my thinking about adding something even though it is uncertain at this time just how many the undergraduate minor will attract, since the first course explicitly required for the minor is being offered this spring semester. It is planned to offer a parallel section of that course at the graduate level and it should serve as a test case of interest among graduate students. Should a “decent” number sign up, and should there be interest from some area employers, it is intended to propose a certificate program at the graduate level in renewable energy, which would be suitable to students enrolled in a number of graduate programs, including those in science, engineering, and possibly public policy or business. The advantage of a certificate program over an MS is that it is far easier to start, could be taken by students enrolled in many programs, and could easily be cancelled if demand doesn’t materialize. We are currently in the exploratory stage of discussing this possible certificate program. It would be very useful to get input from area companies and others involved with renewable energy (see Appendix I for list of Mason and non-Mason attendees), and energy conservation on a variety of issues, including the following which you may wish to think about before our meeting:
Discussion topics
- What is the likely area employment demand for graduates? What employment areas are most promising, and which companies have them? Might yours?
- What should be the specific course requirements – what is essential to include & what other courses might be included as electives? (Note that a typical certificate program requires 15 credits or five courses, in contrast to a MS degree, which requires twice as much.) See Appendix II for some current Mason courses that might be relevant. Also see Appendix III for three other programs around three country – one certificate program & two MS-level programs. Note there are only a handful of such programs at present!
- Should it be a program in “renewable energy” or just “energy?” (The latter might include, for example a course on nuclear energy.)
- Which companies might have an interest in supporting the program by having its students enroll or supplying potential part-time faculty and internships?
- Do you have any suggestions on the present undergraduate minor in renewable energy?
- A request: I am submitting a proposal to the
National Science Foundation to enhance college level renewable energy
education throughout the
If you are willing to serve on this advisory board please send me a letter similar to this sample.
.
Appendix I.
Non-Mason people confirmed for Dec 7 planning meeting
Dr. Patrick Brant
Chief Scientist
ExxonMobil Chemical Company
Mr. Sumit Bhatnaga
Managing partner, GreenBrilliance
http://www.greenbrilliance.com/
sumit.bhatnagar@greenbrilliance.com
Dr. Richard Wakefield, V.P. for Transmission & Regulatory Services,
KEMA, Inc
http://www.kema.com
Mr. Clynton Caines, President
VStarz Corporation
http://vstarz.net
Clynton
Caines <Clynton@vstarz.net>
Mr. Kent Baake, Owner, Continuum Energy Solutions,
http://www.ces-va.com
Dr. James Lyons, Chief Technology Officer, Novus Energy partners
Jim.lyons@novusenergypartners.com
http://novusenergypartners.com/
Mr. John
Lushetsky, Manager, EERE Solar
Energy Technology Program, DOE
http://solar.gwu.edu/Symposium/Bio/John_Lushetsky.pdf
His scheduling person: Deborah.Rose@ee.doe.gov
Dr. Carol Werner, Executive Director
Environmental and Energy Study Institute
Mason
people attending
Dr. Rick Diecchio, Dean for Academic Affairs, COS
Dr. Roger Stough, Vice President for Research
Dr. Bob Ehrlich, Chair, Physics & Astronomy
Dr. Doug Mose, Professor, Chemistry &
Biochemistry
Dr. Sharon deMonsabert, Provost's Office
Sustainability Fellow & Associate Professor, Environmental Engineering
Dr. Allison McFarlane, Associate Professor, Environmental Science & Policy
Dr. Maria Dworzecka, Senior Associate Dean, COS
Dr. Vikas Chandhoke, Dean,
COS
Appendix II: existing Mason courses that might be appropriate:
CEIE 501 - Sustainable Development
Introduction to sustainability concepts and terminology including the development and use of sustainability indices. Exploration of sustainability tools and frameworks such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System, American Institute of Architects Sustainable Design Resources Guide, and the Natural Step (TNS) Framework.Methods for evaluation of sustainable sites, water/energy efficiency, sustainable materials and resources, and indoor air quality are presented.
CEIE 600 - Civil Engineering
Infrastructure Planning and Management
Study of planning and management practices applicable to the life cycle of the physical urban infrastructure including roads, sewers, water distribution and other pipelines, telecommunications, and energy distribution systems. Includes study of relationship of urban growth and infrastructure reinvestment; mechanisms of deterioration; direct and indirect methods of assessment and degradation models; capital finance, budgeting, and programming; planning integration and coordination; quantitative applications in planning; uncertainty and reliability; public-private partnerships; operation and maintenance strategies; and future issues.
PHYS 580 - Physics of Renewable Energy
(new graduate version of PHYS 331)
Introduces the physical principles of
renewable energies, including solar, wind, hydropower and geothermal.
Demonstrates how the application of methods and principles of physics allow us
to understand the basic operation, advantages, limitations and relative merits
of various renewable energy sources. Designed for students majoring in
the sciences or engineering, but also useful for students majoring in science
policy, business, global change and sustainable development.
Appendix III Graduate
MS & Certificate programs elsewhere
Wayne State University
AET Graduate Certificate Program
The Alternative Energy Technology Graduate Certificate will require a
minimum of 12 credits. The core course: AET 5120 is required, and a
maximum of 4 credits is allowed in Research or Directed Studied. The
program will be open to students with a Bachelor's degree in engineering, and
in other mathematics-based sciences in exceptional cases. Certification
procedures in place in WSU's
University of Massachusetts
Master of Science in Energy Engineering SOLAR ENERGY OPTION
The graduate program in Energy Engineering offers professional training at the master's degree level designed to prepare the student to perform state-of-the-art work on energy systems.
Admission Requirements
The Department will consider students for enrollment in the Energy Engineering program who have a bachelor of science degree in Mechanical Engineering or similar engineering discipline. Those with degrees in other areas are also admissible to the graduate program. However, during their course of study, they will be required to take the undergraduate courses in which they are deficient. It is highly recommended that such students complete four semesters in mathematics through differential equations, and have a good background in the general area of soft mechanics (thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid flow, etc.). Generally, such students require two to three years to complete the requirements for the M.S. Eng. degree in Energy Engineering.
Advisors and Advisory Committee
The Program Coordinator will be the student's academic advisor. The advisor's primary role is to help remedy deficiencies in prerequisites, select electives of most value, and help plan the overall program of study for each student. The thesis/project advisor will chair the thesis or project advisory committee, which will guide the student in his or her research and supervise the completion of the thesis or project requirements.
Credit Requirements and Thesis
Participants in the program may elect to follow a thesis or non-thesis option. The thesis option requires a minimum of 30 credit hours: 24 hours of course work plus six credit hours of thesis research. The non-thesis option requires a minimum of 33 credit hours: 30 hours of course work plus three credit hours of project work (Master's Project 24.733). A student's thesis or project work must be defended in an oral examination conducted by the student's thesis/project committee. A thesis is usually more formal and more comprehensive than a Master's project.
Course Requirements
Students may choose to specialize in any area of interest in the college related to the energy field. Each student must take a series of core courses appropriate for the area of specialization. The exact makeup of the core curriculum will be guided and approved by the Graduate Committee of the Energy Engineering program. All students working toward the Master of Science Degree in Energy Engineering must take the following core courses:
Solar Energy Fundamentals, 22.521 (web-based, online)
Solar radiation in space and on the surface of the earth. Sunshape, intensity and flux:
effect of location and orientation. Review of heat transfer. Opaque and transparent bodies. Characterization of solar collectors.
System Dynamics, 24.509
Mathematics foundation using the state variable approach. Topics include matrix methods,
Energy Engineering Workshop, 22.504
A group/individual design project. The design effort will integrate many aspect of the student’s engineering background including design concepts, technical
analyses, economics, etc. A formal report and oral presentation are required.
Solar Systems Engineering, 22.527 (web-based, online)
Thermal network modeling, passive design tools, photovoltaic system design, solar cooling, daylighting, fuel cells, and economics.
Advanced Transport Phenomena, 10.528
An advanced study of the mechanism of momentum, heat and mass transfer. The equations of continuity, motion and energy are used to examine steady and unsteady state processes. Considerable emphasis is placed upon solutions to problems.
The remainder of the course requirements are to be made up of elective courses. In addition to the course and credit requirements above, all students working toward the M.S. degree are required to participate in the Graduate Research Seminar, 24.601/602. Some common electives include, but are not restricted to:
- Mathematical Methods of Engineering
- Energy and the Environment
- Environmental Laws
- Environmental Policy
- Convective Heat and Mass Transfer
- Conduction and Radiative Heat Transfer
- Manufacturing Systems
- Advanced Fluid Mechanics
- Control Systems
- Power Electronics
- Alternative Energy Systems
- Power Systems Analysis
- Optics
University of
Dayton
School of Engineering
Take a look at the course descriptions and degree requirements. Our curriculum gives you the opportunity to be a part of the future of fuels and energy solutions.
Master of Science in Renewable and Clean Energy
Our program helps fill the need for stable, clean and economical energy
sources by educating people and conducting research to find economical energy
alternatives. Thirty-six states have adopted renewable/clean energy or energy
reduction requirements that mandate 12.5 to 25 percent of their energy must
come from renewable sources by 2025.
The program also will fill the need for qualified clean and renewable energy
engineers. In
Many companies doing business in clean and renewable energy
in
This program emphasizes:
- Renewable energy systems — How to integrate existing technologies into existing systems.
- Energy efficiency in buildings, manufacturing, transportation and life-cycle product design.
- Energy economics, justifying renewable energy with solid economic rationale.
- Renewable and clean energy device physics needed to develop next-generation renewable and clean energy systems.
- Renewable and clean energy industrial and real-world projects.
- Renewable and clean energy research, including research in energy efficiency.
UD requires a minimum of 30 hours for a Master of Science
Degree in Clean and Renewable Energy. The student's academic adviser must
approve these hours. Students can take courses at the
Course Requirements
One course in each of the following areas — energy efficiency, advanced
thermodynamics and energy materials
Two courses from renewable energy, clean energy and/or large-scale energy
systems.
Three semester hours of mathematics at the 400 or 500 level
as approved by the student's adviser. Engineering management mathematics
courses (ENM 500 and ENM 501) – Probability and Statistics for Engineers I and
II — are permissible.
Electives: Six semester hours (for thesis option students) and nine semester
hours (for non-thesis option students) at the graduate level from engineering
or the College of Arts and Sciences as approved by the student’s adviser.
Thesis Option: Six semester hours of thesis are required for thesis options
students. Both a written thesis and an oral thesis defense are required.
Non-thesis option: A minimum of three semester hours and up to six of a
renewable and clean energy project are required for non-thesis students. The
project should minimally result in a written report.
Course Listing
Advanced Thermodynamics: UD/MEE 511, UD/CME 507, WSU/ME 744, WSU/ME 760,
AFIT/PHYS 635.
Energy Materials: UD/MEE 507,WSU/ME 890.
Renewable Energy: WSU/ME 624 – Solar Engineering, Advanced Solar Energy – Photovoltaics (to be developed), WSU/ME 890 – Hydrogen
Energy, UD/MEE 573 – Renewable Energy Systems, UD/MEE 590 – Advanced Fuel
Technology (including biomass), Wind Power Generation and Storage (to be
developed), Electrical Power Processing (studies in the processing of
electrical power from wind energy or solar energy that can be placed on the
electrical grid or used by modern appliances, to be developed).
Clean Energy: AFIT/NENG 620 – Nuclear Reactor Theory and Engineering, WSU/ME
699 – Fuel Cell Science and Technology, WSU/ME 699 – Energy Conversion,
UD/MEE/CME 524 – Fuel Cell Fundamentals and Technology, UD/MEE/AEE 526 –
Advanced Fuels, WSU/ME 890 – Electrochemical Energy Systems.
Energy Efficiency: UD/MEE 568 – Advanced Automotive Transportation Systems, UD/MEE
569 – Energy Efficient Buildings, UD/MEE 571 – Design of Thermal Systems,
UD/MEE 572 – Design for Environment, UD/MEE 578 – Energy Efficient
Manufacturing.
Large-Scale Energy Systems: WSU/Electrical Power Processing (to be developed),
Energy Research (studies energy use in the
Admission
Visit UD's graduate school web site to apply for
admission into the Master of Science in Renewable and Clean Energy.
Visit UD graduate school >>
Sample letter
The XYZ Corporation – a leader in solar energy
Dr. John Smith, President XYZ Corp
December 5, 2009
Dear Dr. Ehrlich,
This is in response your invitation to serve on an industry advisory board that will be part of a proposed NSF project that you have prepared to help stimulate college & university level education in renewable energy, which I consider to be a very worthy goal.. I am very happy to accept, assuming the project is funded.
I understand that this board would include such activities as preparing a document to provide real world industry advice to universities, so that their energy programs are well-matched to industry needs, providing occasional advice to individual institutions on how to best build their energy programs, providing possible internship opportunities and possible later employment to students seeking them, as well as occasional career advice to students seeking it. I may also be of some assistance in spreading the word about your programs within the energy industry. Finally, I understand that these activities will not involve a major time commitment on my part, and that no travel would be required for this unpaid position.
Sincerely,
Dr. John Smith