The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently announced that Boise Sate University is among 10 teams
selected through a competitive process to take part in the inaugural DOE Collegiate Wind Competition. The 
Boise State team’s proposal was a collaborative effort between faculty members in the College of Engineering and the College of Business and Economics to have senior capstone students from both colleges work on the competition project. Kent Neupert, COBE professor and director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, was involved in the proposal along with Sandra Cardon, John Gardner and Sarah Haight.
The collaborative student projects will begin this coming fall. Competing teams will investigate innovative wind energy concepts; gain experience designing, building, and testing a wind turbine to perform according to a customized market data-derived business plan; and increase their knowledge of wind industry barriers. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory is facilitating the inaugural competition, which will take place in spring 2014.
The DOE Collegiate Wind Competition is designed to reach students from various engineering and business programs to provide them with engaging, real-world project experience as they prepare to enter the workforce.
The theme of the inaugural competition is to design and construct a lightweight, transportable wind turbine that can be used to power small electronic devices. A principal contest involves testing each team’s prototype wind turbine in a wind tunnel under specific conditions. Each team’s business plan and turbine will also be evaluated against other pre-weighted criteria. The third event of the competition will be a team-to-team debate relating to current wind market drivers and issues. Teams will be judged on the members’ understanding of the issues posed to them, their communication of potential solutions, and their ability to promote constructive dialogue.
“Wind energy is one of the fastest-growing electrical energy options in the United States, and the industry requires a skilled workforce with talented people from engineering, business, and communications backgrounds. This competition will help attract students from a wide range of disciplines into this exciting industry,” said DOE’s Wind Powering America initiative National Director Jonathan Bartlett.
This competition is an opportunity for collegiate institutions to showcase student ingenuity and the programs that the students represent. In addition to this national recognition, the turbine from the college or university with the best overall score will be placed on temporary display at the DOE headquarters building in Washington, D.C.
See the Wind Powering Amercia website for more information.
Come join the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) and U.S. SBA Assistant Associate Administrator Calvin Goings at the Young Entrepreneur Series Event! A special gathering of leading young entrepreneurs. Listen to a distinguished panel of young business leaders that will share their personal stories, business tips, and lessons learned throughout their journey as entrepreneurs.