Undergraduate Research Opportunity in Renewable Energy
NSF REU Site in Ocean Current based Electricity Production (2017-2019)
NSF REU Site in Marine Renewable Energy (2020-2023)
Florida Atlantic University is hosting an intensive summer research program focused on science and engineering challenges related to the environmentally friendly creation of electricity from marine renewable energy resources.
Ocean currents off the Southeast U.S. represent an untapped energy source with a technically feasible power production potential estimated at 19 GW in U.S. waters. The time average energy densities in this ocean current reach 3.3 kW/m2 off Florida's east coast, several times greater than the most energy dense wind resource in the U.S. The on-campus research will focus on three technical challenges associated with harnessing this and other marine renewable energy resources: resource assessment, system design and operation, and environmental impacts.
Watch a brief interview with the director of this REU, related to ocean current energy production, here.
YOUR FLORIDA EXPERIENCE
- This paid, 10 week program focuses on training, mentoring, research and providing students with an exciting summer experience that will prepare them for graduate studies or careers in engineering and science.
- Participants will typically work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day with an hour for lunch.
- Student development and training events held one to two times per week.
- Undergraduate researchers are paid $600 along with a $150 meal allowance, per week.
- Apartment-style dormitory housing will be provided to participants on FAU's Boca Raton or Harbor Branch campuses. Student project will dictate home campus.
- Suggestions for making the most out of your South Florida visit and Research Experience have been provided by the 2017 REU class.
- If Covid-19 restrictions/precautions do not allow for an in-person REU then we will offer a Virtual/Remote REU. For this program we will offer the $600/week stipend, but not the $150/week meal allowance or housing.
2022 Research Experience for Undergraduates: Projects
-
We plan to offer 10 in-person research projects for the summer of 2022, with remote projects offered as back-ups should Covid-19 restrictions/precautions not allow for an on-campus REU.
-
Resource Assessment: Regional Oceanic Modeling
Led by Mingshun Jiang, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
-
Generator Design: Benthic Microbial Fuel Cell
Led by Jordon Beckler, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
-
Turbine Design and Operation: Applied Ocean Current Turbine Design
Led by William Baxley, MS, PE
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
-
Turbine Operation: Reliability of Marine Renewable Energy
Led by Yufei Tang, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
-
Turbine Design and Operation: Bio-Inspired Structures for Tidal Energy Harvesting
Led by Oscar Curet, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
-
Turbine Design and Operation: Shark Skin Inspired Bio-Fouling Protection
Led by Marianne Porter, Ph.D. -
Environmental Impacts: Materials Research to Improve the Performance of Sensors used in Automated Animal Classification
Led by Bing Ouyang, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
-
Environmental Impacts: Sea turtles and Ocean Current Turbines
Led by Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
-
Turbine Design and Operation: Sulfide-Induced Corrosion Research
Led by Vivian Merk, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
-
System Design: Numerical Simulation of a Wave Energy Converter
Led by James VanZwieten, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
-
The following 10 projects were completed during the summer of 2021 by Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Scholars, Veteran Research Supplement (VRS) Scholars and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Scholars. Please note that links to final REU videos are not yet available.
-
Resource Assessment: Regional Oceanic Modeling
Led by Mingshun Jiang, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: Rhys Tallentire
REU Scholar Home Institution: University of California-San Diego
-
Resource Assessment: Assessment of the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Resource in the Caribbean
Led by Yufei Tang, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
REU Scholar: Eliana Wilkoff
REU Scholar Home Institution: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
-
System Design and Operation: Benthic Microbial Fuel Cells
Led by Jordon Beckler, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: Bella Guyll
REU Scholar Home Institution: Iowa State University
-
System Design and Operation: Applied Riverine Turbine Design
Led by William Baxley, MS, PE
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center
REU Scholars: Alexis Clark and Geoff Cole
REU Scholar Home Institution: Florida Institute of Technology
-
System Design and Operation: Bio-Inspired Structures for Tidal Energy Harvesting
Led by Oscar Curet, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Ocean and Mechanical Engineering
REU Scholar: Victor Jimenez
REU Scholar Home Institution: University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez
-
System Design and Operation: Sulfide-Induced Corrosion Research
Led by Vivian Merk, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Ocean and Mechanical Engineering and Chemistry and Biochemistry
REU Scholar: Charu Vijay
REU Scholar Home Institution: Tufts University
-
Environmental Impacts: Sea Turtle Shell Strength Testing and Analysis
Led by Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Biological Sciences
REU Scholar: Mia Missimer
REU Scholar Home Institution: Pearl River Community College
-
Environmental Impacts: Development of an Automated Drone Charging Platform
Led by Yanjun Li, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: William Fairman
REU Scholar Home Institution: Olin College of Engineering
-
Environmental Impacts: Automated Animal Classification using LiDAR
Led by Bing Ouyang, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: Leia Rich
REU Scholar Home Institution: Swarthmore College
-
The following 5 projects were completed during the summer of 2020 by Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Scholars who worked remotely due to Covid-19.
-
Generator Design and Operation: Benthic Microbial Fuel Cells
Project Lead: Jordon Beckler, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: Emerick Gilliams
REU Scholar Home Institution: University of Florida -
Turbine Design and Reliability: Ocean Current Turbine Health Monitoring
Project Lead: Yufei Tang, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
REU Scholar: Yahan Chang
REU Scholar Home Institution: Ocean Current Turbine Health Monitoring -
Environmental Impacts: Development of a Sonar Array for Automated Animal Classification
Project Lead: Yanjun Li, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: Alex Schaff
REU Scholar Home Institution: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach -
Turbine Design and Operation: Applied Ocean Current Turbine Flight Control
Project Lead: William Baxley, MS, PE
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
Affiliated Department: Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center
REU Scholar: Emily Pippin
REU Scholar Home Institution: : San Jose State University -
Turbine Design and Operation: Marine Current Turbine Wakefield Modeling
Project Lead: James VanZwieten, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Civil, Environmental, and Geomatics Engineering
REU Scholar: Daniel Huang
REU Scholar Home Institution: : San Jose State University
-
The following 14 projects were completed during the summer of 2019 by Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Scholars, Veteran Research Supplement (VRS) Scholars and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Scholars.
-
Resource Assessment: Eddies and Ocean Energy Potential in Southeast Florida
Project Lead: Mingshun Jiang, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Habor Branch
Affiliated Department: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: : Ian Robertson
REU Scholar Home Institution: Bates College -
Resource Assessment: AUV Based Turbulence Measurements
Project Lead: Manhar Dhanak, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Ocean and Mechanical Engineering
REU Scholar: Claudia Hess
REU Scholar Home Institution: Butler Community College -
Resource Assessment: Open-Ocean Turbulence Assessment
Project Lead: James VanZwieten, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Civil, Environmental, and Geomatics Engineering
REU Scholar: Alexander Mink
REU Scholar Home Institution: North Carolina State University at Raleigh -
Turbine Design and Reliability: Biology Inspired Energy Harvesting
Project Lead: Oscar Curet, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Ocean and Mechanical Engineering
REU Scholar: Daniel O. Gómez Váz -
Turbine Design and Reliability: Smart MHK Generation System Monitoring
Project Lead: Yufei Tang, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
REU Scholar: Samuel Lizza
REU Scholar Home Institution: Wilkes University -
Turbine Design and Reliability: Development of an Aero-Amphibious Measurement/Inspection Drone
Project Lead: Bing Ouyang, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: Mathai Karanja
REU Scholar Home Institution: Murray State University -
Turbine Design and Reliability: Shark Skin Inspired Bio-Fouling Protection
Project Lead: Marianne Porter, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Biological Sciences
REU Scholar: Hannah Herbst
REU Scholar Home Institution: Florida Atlantic University
-
Turbine Design and Reliability: Numerical Simulation of a Prototype MHK Generator
Project Lead: Yufei Tang, Ph.D. and James VanZwieten, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science / Civil, Environmental, and Geomatics Engineering
REU Scholar: Lauren Wetherhead
REU Scholar Home Institution: Georgia State University -
Environmental Impacts: Eye-safe Animal Detection
Project Lead: Anni Vuorenkoski Dalgleish, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: Samantha Chesser
REU Scholar Home Institution: Kansas Wesleyan University -
Environmental Impacts: Tracking the World's Most Mysterious Sea Turtles
Project Lead: Jeannette Wyneken, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Biological Sciences
REU Scholar: Morgan Sommers
REU Scholar Home Institution: Elizabethtown College -
Turbine Design and Reliability: Drop-in Turbine Generator System
Project Lead: William Baxley, MS, PE
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center
VRS Scholar: Jesse Moore
VRS Scholar Home Institution: Western Carolina University -
Turbine Design and Reliability: Facilitating Marine Hydrokinetic Energy Generator Replacement
Project Lead: William Baxley, MS, PE
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center
VRS Scholar: Lucas Lopes
VRS Scholar Home Institution: Florida Atlantic University -
Turbine Design and Reliability: Biology Inspired Energy Harvesting
Project Lead: Oscar Curet, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Ocean and Mechanical Engineering
RET Scholar: Eduardo E Castillo Charris, Ph.D.
RET Scholar Home Institution:Universidad del Turabo -
Turbine Design and Reliability: Drop-in Turbine Generator System
Project Lead: William Baxley, MS, PE
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center
RET Scholar: Ashley Baxley
RET Scholar Home Institution:University of South Florida (Pre-Teacher)
-
The following 14 projects were completed during the summer of 2018 by Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Scholars, Veteran Research Supplement (VRS) Scholars and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Scholars.
-
Resource Assessment: AUV Based Turbulence Measurements
Project Lead: Manhar Dhanak, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Ocean and Mechanical Engineering
REU Scholar: Alexandra Bosco
REU Scholar Home Institution: University of Rhode Island -
Resource Assessment: Assessing Hurricane Impacts on the Gulf Stream
Project Lead: James VanZwieten, Ph.D. and Bill Baxley, P.E.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center
REU Scholar: Nathaniel Small
REU Scholar Home Institution: California Baptist University -
Turbine Design and Reliability: Resilient Turbine Design
Project Lead: Ionut Cardei, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Computer & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
REU Scholar: Davy Pardonner
REU Scholar Home Institution: University of West Florida -
Turbine Design and Reliability: Biology Inspired Energy Harvesting
Project Lead: Oscar Curet, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering
REU Scholar: Daniel O. Gómez Vázquez
REU Scholar Home Institution: Universidad del Turabo -
Turbine Design and Reliability: Smart MHK Generation System Monitoring
Project Lead: Yufei Tang, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Computer & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
REU Scholar: Erica Lindbeck
REU Scholar Home Institution: University of Central Florida -
Environmental Impacts: Eye-Safe Animal Detection
Project Lead: Anni Vuorenkoski-Dalgleish, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: Katharine Rigdon
REU Scholar Home Institution: Oberlin College -
Environmental Impacts: Eye-Safe Animal Detection
Project Lead: Fraser Dalgleish, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: Stephanie Langlois
REU Scholar Home Institution: Palm Beach State College -
Environmental Impacts: Automated Animal Classification
Project Lead: Bing Ouyang, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: Shadi Bavar
REU Scholar Home Institution: University of Massachusetts Amherst -
Environmental Impacts: Electrosensory Sensitive Species Study
Project Lead: Stephen Kajiura, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Biological Sciences
REU Scholar: Lillian Mulligan
REU Scholar Home Institution: Florida Southern College -
Environmental Impacts: Turbine/Animal Strike Impact Study
Project Lead: Marianne Porter, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Biological Sciences
REU Scholar: Brian Nkenke
REU Scholar Home Institution: Rutgers University -
Turbine Design and Reliability: Drop-in Turbine Generator System
Project Lead: Bill Baxley, P.E.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center
VRS Scholar: Zachary Fisher
VRS Scholar Home Institution: Florida Atlantic University -
Turbine Design and Reliability: Drop-in Turbine Generator System
Project Lead: Bill Baxley, P.E.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center
VRS Scholar: Justin Fikes
VRS Scholar Home Institution: University of North Texas -
Turbine Design and Reliability: Biology Inspired Energy Harvesting
Project Lead: Oscar Curet, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Ocean and Mechanical Engineering
RET Scholar: Eduardo E Castillo Charris, Ph.D.
RET Scholar Home Institution: Universidad del Turabo -
Hydrokinetic Resource Assessment and Device Performance Study
Project Lead: James VanZwieten, Ph.D. and Bill Baxley, P.E.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton and Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center
RET Scholar: Halle Cheeseman, Ph.D.
RET Scholar Home Institution: Florida Keys Community College
-
The following 10 projects were completed during the summer of 2017.
-
Resource Assessment: Regional Oceanic Modeling
Project Lead: Laurent Chérubin, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: Mary Avis Burnam
REU Scholar Home Institution: University of Georgia -
Resource Assessment: Eye-safe Animal Detection
Project Lead: Anni Vuorenkoski Dalgleish, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: Sophie Waxenberg
REU Scholar Home Institution: Penn State -
Resource Assessment: AUV Based Resource Measurements
Project Lead: Manhar Dhanak, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering
REU Scholar: Carlos Orozco
REU Scholar Home Institution: University of North Texas -
Turbine Design: Resilient Turbine Design
Project Lead: Ionut Cardei, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Department of Computer & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
REU Scholar: Antony Soriano
REU Scholar Home Institution: California State Polytechnic University, Pomona -
Turbine Design: Biology Inspired Energy Harvesting
Project Lead: Oscar Curet, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering
REU Scholar: Adam Rangwala
REU Scholar Home Institution: Washington University in St. Louis -
Turbine Design: Composite Rotor Blade Design
Project Lead: Hassan Mahfuz, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering
REU Scholar: Alexander J. Gonzalez
REU Scholar Home Institution: Florida Atlantic University -
Environmental Impacts: Eye-Safe Animal Detection
Project Lead: Fraser Dalgleish, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: Linnie Booz
REU Scholar Home Institution: Penn State -
Environmental Impacts: Automated Animal Classification
Project Lead: Bing Ouyang, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch
Affiliated Department: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
REU Scholar: Kelvin Pang
REU Scholar Home Institution: UC Berkeley -
Environmental Impacts: Turbine/Animal Strike Impact Study
Project Lead: Marianne Porter, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Biological Sciences
REU Scholar: Doug Werry
REU Scholar Home Institution: Wheaton College -
Environmental Impacts: Electrosensory Sensitive Species Study
Project Lead: Stephen Kajiura, Ph.D.
Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton
Affiliated Department: Biological Sciences
REU Scholar: Olivia Beres
REU Scholar Home Institution: Washington University in St. Louis
HOW TO APPLY
Please utilize the NSF Education and Training Application tool to register after December 21st. This can be accessed here.
DATES
Application window opens: Dec. 21, 2021Application deadline: Feb. 24, 2022
Applicants will be notified of acceptance: On or before Mar. 2, 2022
Start date: May 31, 2022 (subject to change)
End date: Aug. 5, 2022 (subject to change)
CONTACT
For additional information please contact James VanZwieten at 561.297.0955.To print the NSF REU SNMREC Ocean Current Energy Flier, click here.
FUNDING
This REU Site is funded through the National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates program (2017-2019: EEC-1659468; 2020-2023: EEC-1950123)Let's have an adventure. Collect experiences and meet people you'll never forget. It's time to write your story, and we've got the perfect setting.
