UNC Charlotte staff, faculty and students recently participated in the seventh annual Appalachian Energy Summit, hosted by Appalachian State University. The summit is a gathering of energy and sustainability leaders from higher education and other industries to exchange ideas for improving campus performance in energy, buildings, waste, transport, buildings and curriculum.
More than 25 individuals from the Facilities Management Department (sustainability, capital projects, design services, operations, recycling and waste reduction and automotive), the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) and the Partnership, Outreach and Research to Accelerate Learning facility (PORTAL) attended the summit.
During the three-day event, UNC Charlotte representatives joined attendees from other universities in working groups to discuss various topics: high performance campus design; academic integration; transportation-related opportunities; zero waste and waste reduction; and finance, regulatory and energy generation.
Undergraduate and graduate students from the School of Architecture, Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science Department and Engineering Technology and Construction Management Department delivered poster presentations that addressed this year’s summit theme, “Leadership for Good.”
Dozens of projects were judged in four categories; recipients in each were awarded an honorable mention and a grand prize. Of the eight total awards, UNC Charlotte students received five:
- Project (undergraduate and graduate) honorable mention – Bekim Sejdiu
- Graduate research grand prize – Razif Winkler
- Graduate research honorable mention – Jonathan Corbett
- Ph.D. research grand prize – Mohammadamin Sheikhshahrokhdehkordi and Seyedhhamideh Hosseiniirani
- Ph.D. research honorable mention – Sina Modaresahmadi and David Barnett
Navid Goudarzi, assistant professor of mechanical engineering technology in the William States Lee College of Engineering, supervised two of the award-winning projects.
"These students were rewarded for their multidisciplinary research using computer models to determine the best design to harness wind energy, while addressing practical concerns for aesthetics and commercialization," stated Goudarzi.
More information about campus sustainability is on the web, or contact Tyler Sytsma, the University sustainability coordinator.
Photo (courtesy Leila Jackson, Appalachian State University) are the student award winners, left to right, Cassidy Chapman, Nick Palmer, Bekim Sejdiu, Mehul Patel, Jonathan Corbett, Razif Winkler, Sina Modaresahmadi, Mohammadamin Sheikhshahrokhdehkordi and Seyedhhamideh Hosseiniirani.