Education and Training
Science and technology are continually changing the physical limits to economic growth. Renewable energy
technologies have introduced new challenges in the areas of design, materials, and manufacturing of efficient
devices as well as energy production, storage, transportation, integration, and distribution. Many traditional energy
producing companies hesitate to gear their design and production lines to renewable energy due to the lack of
expertise in the realm of renewable energy technology. If the United States is to be a world leader in this area, it is
necessary to equip engineers with a strong understanding of these multidisciplinary issues related to renewable
energy. Therefore, a well-planned, multidisciplinary educational system is needed, where an engineer achieves
confidence in integrated system design and manufacturing.
To achieve this, we will develop a new program in renewable energy and sustainability at the University of Hawaii
at Manoa. Upon completion of this program, students will obtain a degree in their engineering discipline and a
certificate in renewable energy and sustainability. Graduates of this program will have a well-grounded research
background in renewable energy and island sustainability. They will have an extensive knowledge of key
engineering and science issues associated with renewable energy and sustainability, and also have an understanding
of the economic and social impacts of these technologies. Students from this program will become important
leaders in industry and academia, able to impart their knowledge to engineers, scientists, and workers in other fields.
Students will also obtain valuable experiences through international workshops in the program. The students will
perform cutting edge research along with participating in practical projects where they apply learned research
principles. We first discuss the curriculum along with a brief description of the new core classes to be developed,
other related engineering courses, and related courses outside engineering. An essential part of a student’s
experience will be working with local utility and energy companies on projects of relevance to Hawaii. We discuss
plans for recruitment, mentoring, and retention of students with a special effort aimed at underrepresented groups in
science and engineering. Finally, we describe plans to educate the public with outreach programs in island
sustainability.
Curriculum
Students will take seven courses focused on one of four concentration areas. Each concentration area will have a
new core course described below. The curriculum would consist of the core courses, existing and new courses in
engineering related to renewable energy and sustainability, and courses outside engineering. Students will take two
of the four core courses, and then concentrating on one of the four focus areas, taking two courses within the focus
area. Breadth will be provided by a class outside the concentration area, and two courses from areas outside of
engineering, such as economics, urban planning and management. The curriculum is designed to support the
students’ research, as well as expose students to the broader issues involved in creating a sustainable Hawaii.
We propose developing the following four new core courses in renewable energy and sustainability. In many cases,
these multidisciplinary courses will be team taught.
1. Renewable Energy Devices, Materials, and Manufacturing
This course explains the current and potential future energy systems, covers resources, devices, extraction,
conversion, materials, manufacturing, and end-use as well as meeting the regional and global energy needs in a
sustainable manner. Different renewable energy technology devices and their materials and manufacturing will be
presented. Each technology will also be considered in the context of political, social, economic, and environmental
goals. Issues such as cost, performance, efficiency, and durability for the renewable energy devices will also be
discussed.
2. Renewable Energy Principles and Conversions
This course covers the principles of energy conversion for various renewable energy sources and devices. It also
explains issues related to the efficiencies during energy conversions and their impact on environment. It includes
conservation of energy principle (first law of thermodynamics), conversion of mechanical energy to electricity,
entropy (second law of thermodynamics), conversion of chemical energy to thermal energy and its application to
power production, collection of solar energy for water heating and electricity generation, transformation of wind and
wave energy to power, and use of oceanic thermal energy and geothermal energy for power generation.
3. Renewable Energy Systems and Integration
This course covers renewable energy generation, storage, transportation, integration into grid, smart grids, and
distribution. Wind, wave, solar, fuel cells, geothermal, and biomass systems will be studied, along with their
efficient integration into the existing grid. Issues relating to economics, stability, reliability, and security will also
be considered.
4. Energy Conservation and Sustainability
This course will focus on energy and resource conservation in buildings and will be divided into three parts. The
first part includes building energy conservation through efficient HVAC, application of RE devices, smart building
envelopes, and waste energy harvesting. Students will practice with building energy simulations and LEED
performance evaluation. The second part discusses water conservation through efficient hydrologic systems,
rain/grey-water harvesting, and storm-water management. The last part focuses on sustainable construction
materials and includes material recycling and remanufacturing, reducing embodied energy and carbon print of
materials, life-cycle assessment, and design of materials for a healthy indoor air quality.
Renewable Energy and Sustainability Courses Outside Engineering
Students will be required to take two courses outside engineering to get a broader multidisciplinary perspective on
renewable energy and island sustainability. The following courses are in Economics, Urban and Regional Planning,
Information and Computer Science, and Management: ECON 632: Energy Economics; ECON 635: Economics of
Sustainable Development; PLAN 624: Environmental Policies; PLAN 626: Topics in Resource Management; ICS
656: Information Technology and Sustainability; MGT 650-1: Working with Startups; MGT 650-2: High Growth
Entrepreneurship.
Working with State of Hawaii and Local Industry
In addition to taking courses and conducting state of the art research, students would be required to work with local
Hawaii companies on research projects. This will be an essential component of students’ education as they will
obtain practical hands-on training in solving real world problems in renewable energy and island sustainability.
Some issues that Hawaiian Electric Company (HECO) has identified are the efficient generation of renewable
sources (i.e. wind), the need to solve intermittency problem of renewable energy sources, and the transportation and
distribution of renewable energy power between islands via an undersea cable. In addition, support and
collaborations will be provided by the state’s Hawaii Renewable Energy Development Venture (HREDV), which
provides startup funds for ventures in renewable energy. HREDV has identified several topics in addition to the
issues raised by HECO, including smart grids, integrating renewable energy sources to the grid, renewable energy
sources applied to agriculture, and alternative transportation sources using biofuels and fuel cells.
Integration of Research Themes and Curriculum
To illustrate how the curriculum will integrate with the research themes, consider the following example. Alice and
Bob are two students who enter the IGERT program. Alice is interested in developing high-efficiency
nanostructured solar cells, while Bob is interested in creating a smart grid system for the island of Oahu. Alice
decides to focus on Concentration Area 1: Renewable Energy Devices, Materials, and Manufacturing. Alice’s
curriculum is shown in Table 1. The courses Alice takes to fulfill her concentration area requirements prepare her
for her research project in nanostructured solar cells, while her minor and breadth courses give her a broader
understanding of renewable energy systems. In addition, Alice gains exposure to key economic and urban planning
policies that relate to renewable energy in her non-engineering breadth courses.
Table 1: Alice’s sample curriculum for a focus in Renewable Energy Devices, Materials, and Manufacturing.
Curriculum Requirement
Courses
Concentration area requirements
RE 601: Renewable Energy Devices, Materials, and Manufacturing
EE 621: Advanced Solid-State Devices
ME 647: Nanoscience and Nanotechnology
Minor concentration area course
RE 602: Renewable Energy Principles and Conversions
Breadth course
RE 603: Renewable Energy Systems and Integration
Non-engineering breadth courses
ECON 632: Energy Economics
PLAN 624: Environmental Policies
Bob decides to focus on Concentration Area 3: Renewable Energy Systems and Integration, as this will help him in
his smart grid research. Bob’s curriculum is shown in Table 2. Like Alice, Bob’s focus courses will aid him in his
research. Since Bob has a great interest to be an entrepreneur in renewable energy, his minor and breadth courses
will broaden his knowledge of energy systems, devices, and management.
Table 2: Bob’s sample curriculum for a focus in Renewable Energy Systems and Integration.
Curriculum Requirement
Courses
Concentration area requirements
RE 603: Renewable Energy Systems and Integration
EE 617: Linear and Convex Optimization
EE 618: Dynamic Program. & Stochastic Control
Minor concentration area course
RE 601: Renewable Energy Devices, Materials, and Manufacturing
Breadth course
RE 604: Energy Conservation and Sustainability
Non-engineering breadth courses
MGT 650: Working with Startups
ICS 656: Information Technology and Sustainability
Alice and Bob, along with several other IGERT students, decide to work on a project in collaboration with the
Hawaiian Electric Company, in which they will study the feasibility of widespread solar panel deployment on
residential and commercial buildings. Alice’s nanostructued solar cell research will increase the efficiency and
durability of the solar panels, driving costs down. Bob’s smart grid research is necessary to efficiently integrate this
widely-distributed solar panel network into the existing grid in such a way that excess energy production can be sold
to HECO, while still allowing power to be drawn from HECO’s larger renewable energy plants when energy
demand exceeds the solar panel output. On his MGT 650 course, Bob will work closely with a start up company in
Big Island to assist them on the supply chain management of high tech solar panels. In this way, the proposed
IGERT curriculum effectively integrates education, research, and applied projects with local industry for maximum
impact.
Recruiting, Mentoring, and Retention of Students
Recruiting:
We will advertise the IGERT program nationally to attract US students to enroll. Locally, we will recruit
underrepresented minority groups. The College of Engineering at UHM has maintained an excellent Native
Hawaiian Science and Engineering Mentorship Program (NHSEMP). NHSEMP participants are provided with
financial and mentoring support and internship opportunities. This program has been very successful in increasing
the number of Native Hawaiian student in STEM disciplines, and improving retention of engineering students. The
IGERT team will work closely with the NHSEMP program by presenting seminars to the group and giving Native
Hawaiian students an opportunity to participate in research activities as undergraduate student assistants. Funding
for these activities will be provided by UHM. Our hope is that some of these Hawaiian students will pursue their
Ph.D. studies in the IGERT program graduation. In addition, our college also has two other very active student
organizations: the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and Engineers without Borders (EWB). Many women
students are active participants in these two groups. The IGERT team will work with SWE and EWB in the same
manner as it works with NHSEMP to recruit female students and other minority students from these groups.
A major recruitment project being planned is the “Green Holmes Hall Project,” in which students and faculty will
work together to make Holmes Hall, the College of Engineering’s main building, more energy efficient. This will
be a student- and faculty-led effort, increasing student interest and awareness in sustainability. Another fertile
ground for recruitment of undergraduate students is through the existing senior capstone design projects which will
be defined on renewable energy and island sustainability under support of local Hawaiian companies. Graduate
students will mentor undergraduate students through project completion.
Mentoring, Retention and Graduation:
In this multidisciplinary IGERT program, all dissertation committee members will work closely with the students.
IGERT students will occupy a shared lab space, fostering the exchange of different ideas, and multidisciplinary
collaborations. Students working on different topics give presentations and exchange ideas about their research
progress while people from local companies are invited. The P.I. will meet with faculty advisers and check each
student’s progress regularly to ensure retention and graduation.
K-12 STEM Outreach Activities
This IGERT will also actively promote renewable energy and sustainability at K-12 levels with active involvement
of graduate students. This includes STEM curriculum development, and outreach to underrepresented students and
science teachers. Energy awareness programs will be developed in collaboration with local teachers to expose K-12
students to the ideas of renewable energy sources abundant in Hawaii.