From the desk of Dr. Terry Van Allen, Director:

On May 3^rd, the Office of Research sponsored a tour of the Wind Park near Bad Axe, Michigan, where 48 wind turbines (each approximately the size of a football field) generate alternate energy for Michigan. Six faculty and staff, and ten engineering students toured the facility and met with representatives from Consumers Energy, Exelon Wind, and General Electric. The purpose of the trip was to educate students in wind energy and technology, and to build a collaboration between faculty and Consumers Energy engineers.

Dr. Van Allen facilitated the bus trip, discussions, and luncheon meeting with officials of the energy companies. Drs. Quamrul Mazumder, Olanrewaju Aluko, and Dale Tuttle, along with Deb White (Director of Extended Learning) and Greg Snyder (Purchasing Manager for contracts with Consumers Energy) participated in this event. Also included were several Engineering students: Anita Ainsworth, Pronab Biswas, Ed Howard, Andrew Johnston, Kerry Jones, Justin Ladd, Shawn Miller, Matthew Schneider, Saiful Siddique, and Evan Smith.

All energy officials and university participants believed that this was a highly successful meeting and that future collaborations will be developed between Consumers Energy and UM-Flint as a result of the discussions and tour. Christina Gipson of Consumers Energy is a graduate of the School of Management at UM-Flint, and Ms. Gipson organized this learning experience in partnership with Dr. Van Allen and the Office of Research. A future meeting is planned to discuss renewable energy courses and training between UM-Flint and Consumers Energy.

Click here to view photos from the event (Photos courtesy of Engineering student Saiful Siddique)