Preparing the Next-Generation Workforce to Design Advanced Electrical Power Systems for the DoD Deploying Multiple Sources, Energy Storage, Intelligent Control, and Transient Loads
Abstract
This proposal will provide students from underrepresented groups, who are majoring in Electrical Engineering (EE), Industrial, Manufacturing, and Systems Engineering (IMSE), Computer Science and Engineering (CSE), and Mechanical Engineering (ME), with the opportunity to perform analytical and experimental research that will advance the state-of-the-art of distributed generation power systems. Furthermore, this proposal will update existing course materials, integrate DoD relevant research into current undergraduate and graduate research programs, create demonstrations for the general public that can be used as showcases for competitions and recruitment, and increase the number of URM students working on the DOD projects. It encompasses overlapping technical areas of critical interest to the US Department of Defense (DoD) and the US future Joint Force, including power systems engineering, power generation, pulsed power, directed energy, controls, energy storage, and system engineering. PI WetzÕs Pulsed Power and Energy Lab (PPEL) has been funded by the US DoD since 2011 and has unique hardware and testbed capabilities that are used to support the design and validation of energy storage, pulsed power, and their introduction into future shipboard power systems. The PPEL will partner with Co-PI JonesÕ Systems Analysis, Validation, Implementation, and Improvement (SAVII) laboratory, which is part of The Center on Stochastic Modeling, Optimization, & Statistics (COSMOS). COSMOS conducts research on decision-making for designing, modeling, and managing complex real-world systems. COSMOS methods seek to integrate statistics, optimization, and simulation/stochastic modeling to achieve better solutions more efficiently, and COSMOS applications customize approaches to match the needs of the decision-maker. COSMOS researchers have data science expertise in machine learning, artificial intelligence, mathematical programming, stochastic optimization, discrete-event and agent-based simulation modeling, design of experiments, statistical modeling, and statistical process monitoring. SAVII applications have a specific focus on energy systems that paired with COSMOS resources will be an asset to proposed project. The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) is a leading Hispanic serving institution, with a highly ranked engineering program, located in the heart of the Dallas - Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex. DFW is the 4th largest population in the US and home to over 7.5M people. UTA is repeatedly ranked by U.S. News & World Report as 6th among national universities for undergraduate (UG) ethnic diversity with 23.7% reporting as Hispanic/Latino, 14.2% as Black/African American, 9.91% as Asian, and 3.21% as two or more races. This diversity serves as a strong base to recruit underrepresented students from. An undergraduate research program is proposed to engage students in research projects of interest to the DoD. By engaging students early in these activities, their chances of pursuing a graduate level degree will increase significantly along with their interest in working for a DoD or one of their contractors. The program will strengthen UTAÕs ability to recruit local high schools from the Arlington, Texas area into the College of Engineering. Plans are also to recruit new graduate students from the other four major universities in the DFW area including Southern Methodist University (SMU), University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), Texas Christian University (TCU), and University of North Texas (UNT). The US DoD has an aging work force and is in dire need of new engineers to maintain our core strengths. That workforce needs to be representative of the makeup of the American public it serves. This proposal seeks funding to provide educational opportunities to students who need that extra push to show them how successful they can be in the engineering disciplines, how much they can do for the US forces, and how much they can do to contribute to the stren
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jul 28, 2023
- Source ID
- W911NF2310163
Entities
People
- David A. Wetz
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Office of the Secretary of Defense
- University of Texas at Arlington