WPTO Selects Three New Marine Energy Research Fellows and Opens the Program to All Graduate-Level Students

WPTO selected three fellows for the 2022 Marine Energy Graduate Research Program and expanded eligibility to all graduate-level students for the 2023 program.

Water Power Technologies Office

March 1, 2023
Marine Energy icon graphic - a lighthouse with a wave below
Link URL
/eere/water/marine-energy-program

Marine Energy Program

Data Access, Analytics, and Workforce Development

Project Name: Marine Energy Graduate Student Research Program 

Participants’ Academic Institutions: University of California, Santa Barbara; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York; and Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania 

Solid black line separating content.

This article is part of the

WPTO 2021–2022 ACCOMPLISHMENTS REPORT

In This Report

Hydropower Projects

Marine Energy Projects

In March 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) announced the three latest fellows selected under the Marine Energy Graduate Student Research Program. This program funds graduate students to pursue marine energy research at a host institution, such as a federal agency, national laboratory, industry technology developer, or another approved organization.  

The 2022 cohort of fellows includes:

Claire Gonzales poses in a parking lot next to the ocean with her scuba gear giving a thumbs up to the photographer. Claire is wearing some of her gear while other components of the gear are in a bag she is holding.
Claire Gonzales, a fellow in the Marine Energy Graduate Student Research Program, poses with her scuba gear. Gonzales’ love for scuba diving led her to a career in marine science.
Image from Claire Gonzales
  • Claire Gonzales, who is a student at University of California, Santa Barbara, and working with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to advance research into the co-location of marine renewable energy with offshore aquaculture development.  
  • Habilou Ouro-Koura, who is a student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and working with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory on a reliable and clean energy source to power the uncrewed underwater vehicles used in ocean research and other sectors.  
  • Christopher Ruhl, who is a student at Lehigh University and working with Sandia National Laboratories to understand how turbulence might impact tidal energy devices at potential sites around the world.  

Data Access, Analytics, and Workforce Development Projects