UC becomes energy Center of Excellence

The University of Cincinnati was recently chosen by Gov. Ted Strickland as one of eight state universities recognized as Ohio Centers of Excellence in advanced energy.

UC will conduct research and study “sustaining the urban environment” (SUE). The program will involve both undergraduate and graduate students, said Tim Keener, associate dean for graduate studies and research with the College of Engineering and Applied Science.

The centers of excellence are part of a 10-year strategic plan by Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut for higher education, said Rob Evans, administrative assistant in communications for the Board of Regents.

The announcement is the first of five groupings of university Centers of Excellence. These centers will align with the state’s focus on various industries and talent recruitment. Energy is one of the industries targeted, in addition to transportation, health care and agriculture.

“Centers of Excellence will help universities in becoming economic drivers,” Evans said.

The goal is to attract public and private investment through recognized programs of academic study and research. The centers would also create jobs, said George Sorial, a professor in the civil and environmental engineering department at UC.

“The Center will serve as a job-creation engine for economic development by creating specialized opportunities in technology, design, manufacturing, construction, workforce development and advanced research related to urban infrastructure,” Sorial said.

Research efforts will be required to develop and apply technologies necessary to prepare the nation for future challenges for energy
production. UC will be able to compete more effectively for outside research dollars due to being a Center of Excellence, Sorial said.

“The synergy in collaborations between different programs initiated within the center will effectively enhance our competitiveness in the market,” he said.

The other seven universities recognized are Bowling Green State University, Case Western Reserve University, Central State University, The Ohio State University, Ohio University, the University of Dayton and the University of Toledo.

Each school will have a program concentrating on an area of advanced energy.

“We will be developing an undergraduate program in environmental engineering that will have an even greater emphasis on sustainability,” Keener said.

This will be in addition to another undergraduate program, Energy and Materials Engineering, to begin in September 2010.

The program will be the first of its kind in the nation, and will center around the study of modern and alternative fuels, said Makram Suidan, a professor in civil and environmental engineering.

“It will emphasize very heavily on solar connectors, fuel cells, wind energy – all those topics that are very hot in terms of alternative, renewable, sustainable energy,” Suidan said. “We are moving forward on many fronts.”

Suidan also says these Centers of Excellence focusing on energy are long overdue.

“It’s high time that we start looking at our footprint and start admitting that we have a problem,” Suidan said. “Every indicator we have, although there are naysayers, shows that the environment is changing very fast.

We are losing species, we are losing habitats and we need to get to the stage where we start being more conscientious about what we do.”