UNC Charlotte’s EPIC is on International Map

 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.

                                                            ###