By
Paul Nowell
Here’s
further proof that UNC Charlotte’s Energy Production & Infrastructure
Center, or EPIC, is on the international map.
Recently,
11 graduate students from a prominent German institute arrived on campus to
participate in a six-month research exchange program at EPIC, part of the
William States Lee College of Engineering.
Later this month,
four UNC Charlotte engineering students will travel to Karlsruhe, Germany, to
begin a similar two-month exchange program at the Karlsruhe Institute of
Technology (KIT).
The UNC Charlotte
students are Kaitlyn Chapman, a civil engineering major; Samuel Ludwig and
Kristen Venditti, both mechanical engineering majors; and Mahfuz Ali Shuvra,
who is majoring in electrical engineering.
EPIC director
Johan Enslin said it is an honor for UNC Charlotte to be involved with the
German institute.
“EPIC at UNC
Charlotte represents an international model for multidisciplinary workforce
development and applied energy research,” he said. “This growing relationship
with KIT is an example, and we are proud to have them as an academic partner.”
Karlsruhe
Institute of Technology is one of the largest and most prestigious research and
education institutions in Europe and is known for its high quality of
research work globally.
The KIT graduate
students will serve as research assistants for nine EPIC faculty members. Among
other tasks, they will assist with various projects, including those related to
auxiliary power for emergency vehicles, field-scale water balance of gypsum
landfills, water balance of coal ash pastes in large-scale instrumented tanks and
rooftop solar virtual power plants.
This partnership
is a result of an agreement between KIT and EPIC, with the purpose of building
an energy bridge and aims to link academic and research initiatives of the two
institutions around key energy issues.
UNC Charlotte’s
international reputation in the field of energy and the University’s
relationship with KIT is the impetus for an upcoming visit by German delegates
to the Queen City on May 19. Several top-level delegates will tour EPIC and the
PORTAL Building, a facility developed to harness the research power of UNC
Charlotte to stimulate business growth and job creation.
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