Charles McDonald, Jeremy Ogorzalek, Peter Tavantowicz, Kody Veit, Brian Wallace, Michael Popp, Parth Patel, Susan Stewart, Angelina Conti, Yande Liu, Bridget Dougherty, Nicholas Ward, Danhgo Ma, Sahil Desai, Ken Palamara. Photo by Susan Stewart.
FIRST PLACE OVERALL WINNER
First Place Market Issues Contest
People's Choice Winner
Project Description
The Remote Wind Power Systems Unit (PSU) team represented Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) in the inaugural U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition. The team's primary goal was to aid people by providing portable, sustainable energy solutions. To achieve this goal, the team designed and prototyped a small-scale wind turbine that could easily be deployed to provide power in emergency and/or remote power situations. In addition, the students aimed to gain real-world experience through this project that would help them launch careers in the wind industry. See the entire project portfolio below or on the team's website.
Team Strategy
Although the team originated out of the Aerospace Engineering Department, this interdisciplinary effort included students majoring in broadcast journalism, electrical engineering, energy engineering, mechanical engineering, public relations, and energy, business, and finance. The project was integrated into coursework for classes across the university. For example, engineering classes worked on the turbine design while business classes polished the marketing plan. The groups that worked on different portions of the project collaborated closely to produce a successful product for presentation at the competition.
Design Features
- Can be deployed quickly
- Can provide power to a variety of electronic devices
- Incorporates a three-bladed design