Do you want to know how the community of the future will power its quality of life? Do you wonder how we can support our lifestyle without polluting the air and water that sustain us? Are you interested in what technology jobs we will need to maintain our economy?
The answers to all these questions can be found at two research centers associated with the Illinois Institute of Technology: the Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (WISER) and the Galvin Center for Electricity Innovation. Located on the 16th Floor of the IIT Tower, both look to establish a new energy future whereby we rely on lower carbon forms of energy to sustain our quality of life, and both rely on the partnerships afforded by the location in the Chicagoland area. Whereas WISER casts its net broadly across the spectrum of energy systems and solutions, Galvin Center focuses on micro-grids and covers everything from technology development to small business development to workforce training.
Formed in 2010 by Dr. Mohammad Shahidehpour with the financial support of the late Bob Galvin, the Galvin Center for Electricity Innovation has quickly risen to national stature for its research into smart grid/micro-grid related technologies and systems as well as for its organization of a regional smart-grid cluster and workforce training center. The Center rose from the work IIT started with the Galvin Electricity Initiative and the US Department of Energy on one of the first smart micro-grids in the nation at the Main Campus of IIT on Chicago's south side. With shared funding from the university and DOE, IIT is upgrading its outdated grid to one that maintains power to facilities during a single-point failure, that allows for greater ease in connecting renewable sources of energy, that stores electricity for when it is needed, and that provides greater, more reliable information about the status of electricity use. While that project moved forward, IIT sought more opportunity to leverage the new microgrid for on-site wind technology, battery storage, solar-powered electric vehicle charging, and much more. Recognizing that regional smart grid development will require a robust infrastructure of businesses, technicians, and professionals to support the development and maintenance of the new technology, the Galvin Center was formed with the help of further DOE funding to create a sustaining location for workforce training and curriculum development. Working with local unions, veterans retraining programs, and vocational education programs, the workforce training program not only supports retraining of current professionals, it develops new professionals for the burgeoning marketplace. With new programs in cyber-security, building automation systems, and battery storage, the Galvin Center continues to push for innovation in the electricity marketplace. As highlighted by the proceedings of the recent Great Lakes Symposium on Smart Grid and the New Energy Economy, the region has not only grasped the concept of smart grid, but with the leadership of the Galvin Center and its regional partners, the region is ready for the future.
WISER uses a more cross-disciplinary model to approach the questions of how we will generate the electricity that will flow through our new smart grids, how we will use energy to maintain our quality of life, how we will balance our need for energy against other resources, and how we will get from our present energy economy to one that relies less heavily on the atmospheric release of carbon. Led by Dr. Hamid Arastoopour, and started in 2007 with a generous donation from IIT Trustee Ralph Wanger, WISER built on the previous work of the Energy Technology Program and Energy and Sustainability Institute to establish a world-class program for research and development of new energy technology. Tapping into the university's strong Armour College of Engineering, as well as the equally recognized College of Architecture, College of Psychology, Institute for Food Safety and Health, Institute of Design, Stuart School of Business and Chicago-Kent College of Law, WISER sought solution methods outside the single-disciplinary approach. This approach has led to cooperative programs among Stuart and Armour faculty to analyze processes in Cook County government to promote sustainability within the organization, fuel cell and hydrogen storage research amongst peers in several engineering departments, and improved building design and control through research in architecture and electrical/computer engineering. With a Board of Advisors that reflects the diverse knowledge base of the region, WISER not only builds on a strong past, but looks to a bright future.
One of the strongest elements of the work of WISER and Galvin Center comes in the implementation of the "living laboratory" concept on the IIT campus. Starting with the work on the smart grid, and continuing through implementation of solar-powered vehicle charging (using IIT-developed solar panels and battery storage technology), all the way to and through installing an on-site, in-vessel composter based upon an idea and design development from a class of IIT students, WISER and Galvin have looked to test ideas and technologies within the physical framework of the campus. The IIT Facilities Department has worked hand-in-hand with the research faculty to make that vision happen, to the point of including education opportunities in as many facilities upgrades as is practical and providing feedback on areas of university operation that need significant research and development. This cooperative spirit and truly innovative approach to education sets WISER, Galvin Center, and IIT apart from other institutions. If you every have a chance to stop by the IIT Tower, it is worth calling ahead for a tour of the !6th Floor, WISER and the Galvin Center.
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