November 27, 2023 - Update provided September 2023 by Professor Zack Westgate from the original article published July 8, 2022: The PIGS (Piling in Glauconitic Sands) Joint Industry Project (JIP) is marching on, now nearing the end of Phase 3 and is poised to continue with Phase 4 next year.
November 16, 2023 - Today, the Ocean Energy and Safety Institute (OESI) awarded UMass Amherst as the lead organization on a $334,992 grant to conduct research on the project entitled, "Improved understanding and risk analysis to reduce personnel transport and transfer risk." The research, led by Professor Krish Sharman, will conduct a risk assessment of human transfer from service vessels to wind turbines, and development of an optimal transfer system using two-body simulation tools.
The Wind Energy Fellows Program, in partnership with the ELEVATE program, announces it's first Wind Energy Fellows Seminar for Fall 2023:
Technology Trends in Renewable Energy
presented by Bryce B. Aquino, Principal Engineer - Renewable Energy at Axis Capital
On Friday, June 30, College of Engineering Dean Sanjay Raman shared the news that the UMass Amherst Board of Trustees has appointed Professor Matt Lackner as one of three College of Engineering faculty to named professorships.
Here is an excerpt of the announcement:
On April 11, dozens of UMass Amherst wind energy graduate and undergraduate students from the Wind Energy Fellows, ELEVATE and UWEC programs gathered at the ELAB 2 campus building for the first annual 2023 Wind Energy Alumni Career Panel. The session was moderated by civil engineering Professor Sanjay Arwade with three distinguished alums in the wind industry: Casey Fontana of Invenergy, Chris Elkinton of DNV, and Walt Musial of NREL.
The Wind Energy Fellows Program, in partnership with the ELEVATE program, announces it's Wind Energy Fellows Seminar Series program for Spring 2023. It begins February 23, and goes through April 21, with a mix of in person and Zoom remote sessions with five speakers scheduled. For more information, contact Chris Hernandez-Negron, WEF Program Coordinator: c.hernandeznegron@gmail.com.
Register and learn more about topics here: https://forms.gle/jqadEBJqjd7BNJNW6
Faculty and students from the College of Engineering showcased UMass Amherst's pioneering leadership and cutting-edge technology development in wind energy research at the fourth International Offshore Wind Technical Conference (IOWTC) and Banquet, held Dec. 7 and 8 at Northeastern University. Chancellor Kumble R. Subbaswamy and Dean Sanjay Raman provided pre-recorded remarks at the opening event.
The Wind Energy Fellows (WEF) program offers a wind energy related guest speaker series co-sponsored by ELEVATE from various universities and NREL. The seminars take place on Thursdays from 4-5 PM EST beginning September 29.
The Wind Energy Center 50th Anniversary Exhibit is on display as part of the "Engineering@75" exhibit in the Science and Engineering Library through December, featuring a collection of relics, archival documents and photographs spanning the decades from 1947 to the present day.
Energy Transition Institute (ETI) Director and professor of industrial engineering, Erin Baker, is quoted in an article by Popular Science entitled “Offshore wind has been slow to take off in the US. Here’s what could change that.” In the article, Baker comments on the Biden administration's goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030. “It’s a pretty ambitious goal” says Baker, “But with the price reductions we’ve seen in wind and offshore wind—we’ve seen about a 50 percent reduction over six years in offshore wind—I think it’s very doable.”
