Fall 2008 to present
Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
Research Topic: Renewable Energy and Sustainable Design for Off-Grid Environments
I am interested in finding ways to reduce energy and water consumption in off-grid environments—for example, forward bases. These forward bases are self-contained off-grid habitations including but not limited to facilities supporting climate-controlled billeting, food preparation and distribution, laundry, showers, latrines, and recreation. By modeling each module (and the appliances and devices that make up each module) and tracking fuel and water consumption as well as work, heat, and wastewater production in a computer modeling environment, I hope to search out new arrangements of appliances, and find ways to capture wasted energy and water. The goal is to gain appreciable fuel savings by capturing otherwise wasted energy through some novel device or novel arrangement of existing devices.
