Lee College of Engineering

With the purpose of teaching the science and engineering of solar energy and partnering with industry to research methods for producing more-efficient and lower-cost solar cells, the Lee College of Engineering has opened the new Photovoltaic Technology Research Laboratory.

Located in the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center, the new photovoltaic lab is under the direction of Aba Ebong, professor of electrical and computer engineering.

UNC Charlotte is hosting the 43rd Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) North American Manufacturing Research Conference (NAMRC) and the 10th American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference (MSEC 2015) from Monday, June 8, through Friday, June 12, at the Hilton Charlotte University Place. This combined event is the premier international forum for applied research and industrial applications in manufacturing and design.

For years scientists have been aware of the potential problems of antibiotics being present in wastewater, and the research of engineering professor Olya Keen is showing that treatments to clean wastewater may actually be creating new antibiotics and further contributing to the development of antibiotic resistance in the environment.

The 2015 BioEnergy Symposium, scheduled for Thursday, May 14, will center on the topic of beneficial byproducts of bioenergy.

Patrick Serfass, executive director of American Biogas Council, will deliver the keynote address; he will provide insight on the “National Biogas Markets, Policies and Trends Influencing North Carolina.” The luncheon keynote will feature Mary Biddy, senior research engineer of the National Renewables Energy Laboratory, who will discuss “Maximizing Value from Biomass: Developing Pathways for the Production of Fuels and Products.”

Eleven graduate students from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Karlsruhe, Germany, are participating in a six-month research exchange program at UNC Charlotte’s Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC), part of the William States Lee College of Engineering.

Four UNC Charlotte Lee College of Engineering students recently won a 3D printing design competition sponsored by the U.S. Army Research Office. They were part of a team that also included one other college student and an active duty Army representative

Chris Vermillion, an assistant professor in the William States Lee College of Engineering Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science, has won a $500,000 National Science Foundation CAREER award to further his research in creating low-cost methodologies that optimize the combined physical system and controller for high-altitude wind energy systems.

Chancellor Philip Dubois along with Siemens Energy and Hexagon Metrology executives discuss the dedication of the Siemens Large Manufacturing Solutions Lab and its implications for advanced manufacturing.

The North Carolina Council of IEEE and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering are sponsoring the one-day event “RoboResearch” on Friday, March 6, on the Charlotte Research Institute campus.

This seminar will bring together leading experts in government, research and industry to advance the development of robotics in the state.

With the support of local industry that will benefit from its research capabilities, UNC Charlotte dedicated its new Siemens Energy Large Manufacturing Solutions Laboratory Feb. 9.