Alternative Energy Engineering
Welcome to the Lawrence Technological University College of Engineering Alternative Energy Engineering web site!
We created this web site with two goals in mind:
First, we want it to inform you of efforts currently underway regarding our continuously growing Alternative Energy Engineering Program at LTU, in addition to other related Alternative Energy news and educational activities at LTU. We are proud of the significant progress and successes we’ve accomplished so far, and we are looking for many more new courses and learning opportunities for our students.
Since the formal establishment of our program in 2003 we now offer interested students a number of relevant Alternative Energy Engineering courses, have built and outfitted a state-of-the-art Alternative Energy Engineering laboratory, we have installed a 10 kW photovoltaic (PV) grid-tied system of the roof of the Engineering building high-bay area, and have also installed a small wind turbine that charges batteries in our alternative energy engineering laboratory. Our lab features several various solar PV technologies and solar hot water heating systems (some were student built). We also have biodiesel production capabilities, as well as oxygen-bomb calorimetry test equipment to measure energy content of the liquid biofuels produced in the lab. Recently we have undertaken significant research work funded by the US Army to study fuel cell durability and reliability and have now logged well over 1000 hours of test time on PEM fuel cells loaned to LTU by the Army.
Second, we intend for the site to be a valuable resource filled with useful information relevant to anyone interested in the field of Alternative and Renewable Emerging Energy. Our web site will be updated regularly, so please review it often for new information.
Again, welcome, and please feel free to contact me via the methods listed below if you have questions about our Alternative and Renewable Energy efforts at LTU, or if you have helpful suggestions for our web site.
Very Best Regards,
Robert W. Fletcher, PhD
Associate Professor
Director, LTU Alternative Energy Engineering program
Mechanical Engineering Department
Telephone: 248-204-2525
Fax: 248-204-2576
e-mail: rfletcher@LTU.edu