Example research questions for Fall 2014 (dealing with alternative fuels):
1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of wind farms?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of large-scale solar arrays?
3. What are the methods of converting tidal waves into usable energy? How do they compare in
terms of efficiency and cost?
4. Can solar or wind energy ever supply a reasonable fraction (>25%) of the energy needed in the
United States? Why or why not?
5. In what ways can renewable energy be used in the future of transportation? Are there any
technologies that could be applied to the construction of transportation infrastructure that
could generate energy for the vehicles?
6. How are modern architects and architectural engineers designing buildings to utilize both
geothermal and wind energy?
7. Could we use wind power to directly power vehicles?
8. Thermal energy has limitless potential because it is potentially accessible all over the world.
Why is this source not more widely used and what are some of the risks involved in harnessing
geothermal energy?
9. What storage technologies can be utilized in tandem with renewable energy sources in order to
align energy production with demand?
10. Given that refraction and magnification can affect the intensity of light, is there a reasonable
way to use magnification and refraction to increase the production of energy from a standard
solar panel?