University of Nevada, Reno awarded $600,000 for renewable energy scholarships

“This is a tremendous opportunity for students interested in energy, especially renewable energy,” Jeff LaCombe, associate professor in the chemical and metallurgical engineering department said. “The students will be supported all four years, as long as they meet goals, both in program participation and academic achievement.”

The National Science Foundation award will allow the E-scholars program, to provide four-year continual support geared towards students with demonstrated financial need. Additional support will be given through study skills training, tutoring, organized peer study groups, field trips, demonstrations, interaction with industry visitors to campus and internship opportunities.

“Energy, and specifically renewable energy, has become increasingly important to Nevada’s economy,” Manos Maragakis, dean of the College of Engineering, said. “This grant will allow us to build on our strong renewable energy program, our dozens of renewable energy research projects and will provide qualified graduates to the energy industry in Nevada.”

Applications are due July 2, 2010. Applicants must be freshmen enrolled in any engineering major entering full-time study in the fall of 2010. The E-Scholars program will be administered by the University’s TRiO Scholars Program, which will provide participants with the academic assistance and support necessary to successfully complete their baccalaureate degree.

For more information, and to apply, visit the E-Scholars website: http://www.unr.edu/e-scholars, or contact Rita Escher, Director of Academic & Opportunity Support Programs at 775-682-7780.

Thursday 5/20/2010

Committed to the future of rural communities.

Rural Development is one of seven mission areas in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and is a key provider of Federal assistance to help meet the diverse needs of rural communities. 

Rural Development provides over 40 loan and grant programs to create housing, businesses, and infrastructure.  Rural Development serves as a catalyst to improve conditions in rural America by offering technical assistance and increasing the flow of capital through leveraged partnerships.  Successful rural economic development requires cooperation and coordination with local leaders, public and private sector partners, and educational institutions.
Rural Development’s State Office is located at 1390 South Curry Street, Carson City, Nevada 89703, (775) 887-1222; with local offices located in Elko, Fallon, and Las Vegas.

USDA Rural Development Energy Programs

USDA Business Programs

Bio on Herb Shedd

Herb is currently the Business and Cooperative Programs Director in Nevada for the USDA Rural Development and is based in Carson City.  Economic development programs he is responsible for include the Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvement program, Guaranteed Business and Industry Loan program and the Value Added Producer Grant program.  After graduating at the University of Nevada, Reno, Herb has worked with rural communities throughout Nevada over 20 years with Rural Development.

He has been married to Janice for 26 years, has three sons, and resides in Gardnerville.

Thursday 4/15/2010

To a manufacturer, calibration is a sometimes necessary evil part of quality & overhead.  To a quality assurance manager, calibration is part of the foundation of any quality program.  To a consumer, it is a word loosely tossed around by advertising agencies, television, and movie producers to add scientific mystique to a commercial or program.  But this word, which represents individual items or systems consisting of hardware and software, has significance to almost every human on earth.
 
Join us in an audible and visual journey into the many worlds of metrology which affect our daily lives, from the gas that powers our vehicles to the food we purchase, and tools we rely upon for accurate measurements.

1. What is Calibration?
2. International System of Units (SI)
3. Traceability & “NIST Traceability”
4. Legal Metrology (Weights & Measures)
5. ISO & Laboratory Accreditation
6. Example of Inaccurate Weighing
7. Electrical Standards
8. Mechanical (Dimensional) Standards
9. Physical & Chemical Standards
10. Standards Organizations
11. How Does it All Relate to my Life?
12. Are Mobile Calibration Laboratories Legitimate?
13. Questions & Answers

eMail: renorocks@testwave.com
website: www.testwave.com 
1515 Greg Street
Sparks, Nevada, U.S.A. 89431-5915
Telephone: 775-356-TEST (8378)
Facsimile: 775-356-8290
Live Contact Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time Zone

Alan Fuchs, Ph.D., Chair, Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno.

Novel composite proton exchange membranes have been prepared from non–fluorinated polymer and non- and surface coated heteropoly acids (HPA) using atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Polyether sulfone (PES) was used as a polymer matrix. Phosphotungstic acid (PWA), phosphomolybdic acid (PMoA) and silicotungstic acid (SiWA) were used as HPA. It was found that the SiWA has a higher conductivity compared with PWA, at the same concentration. PES was sulfonated using chlorosulfonic acid. The highest conductivity for sulfonated PES with 60 wt.% PWA was 1.7 x 10-2 S/cm. The SiWA was added to the PES up to 30 wt.%. In order to increase the compatibility between SiWA and PES, the SiWA was surface coated. Surface coated SiWA particles can be added to the polymer matrix up to 50 wt.% to form a homogeneous membrane. This route also has the potential to increase the conductivity by sulfonation of grafted polymer backbone, and to avoid “washing out” of HPA in the fuel cell.

Alan Fuchs
Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557
E-mail: afuchs@unr.edu, Phone: 775-327-2227.

Education
Ph.D. Chemical Engineering, Tufts University, 1996.
M.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Rochester, 1979.
B.E. Chemical Engineering, Cooper Union School of Engineering, 1977.

Professional Experience
Chair, Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of Nevada, Reno, January 2010 – Present.
Associate Professor, University of Nevada, Reno, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, July 2004 – Present.
Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Reno, Dept. of Chemical Engineering, Sept. 1998 – July 2004.
Adjunct Professor, University of Detroit Mercy, Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Assistant Director, Center of Excellence in Environmental Engineering and Science, Sept. 1995-Aug. 1998.
R&D Group Leader, Rohm and Haas Inc. (Romicon Subsidiary), Woburn, Mass., 1979-1991.

List of Five Selected Related Publications
1) Fuchs, A., Sutrisno, J., Gordaninejad, F., Caglar, M., Liu, Y., “Surface Polymerization of Iron Particles for Magnetorheological Elastomers (MREs)”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science (In-Press, February 2010).
2) Smith, Y.R., Fuchs, A., and, Meyyappan, M., “Industrial Scale Synthesis of Carbon Nanotubes via Fluidized Bed Chemical Vapor Deposition: A Senior Design Project”, Chemical Engineering Progress (In-Press, February 2010).
3) Fuchs, A., Rashid, A., Yanming Liu, Y., Barkan Kavlicoglu, Y., Huseyin, S., Gordaninejad, F., “Compressible Magnetorheological Fluids”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, volume 115, Issue 6, March 15, 2010.
4) Fuchs, A. Zhang, Q., Gordaninejad, F., and Evrensel, C.A, “Development and Characterization of Magnetorheological Elastomers, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 105, No. 5, pp. 2497-2308, 2007.
5) Hu, B., Fuchs, A., Gordaninejad, F. and Evrensel, C., "Nanostructured and Surface Polymerized Iron Particles for Magnetorheological Fluids", International Journal of Modern Physics B (IJMPB), Vol 21, Numbers 28-29, pp. 4819-4824, November 10, 2007.

List of Five Other Publications
1) Hu, B,. Fuchs, A., Huseyin, S., Gordaninejad, F., and Evrensel, C., “Atom Transfer Radical Polymerized MR Fluids”, Polymer, volume 47, issue 22, October 18, 2006, p.7653-7663.
2) Hu, B,. Fuchs, A., Huseyin, S., Gordaninejad, F., and Evrensel, C., “Supramolecular Magnetorheological Polymer Gels”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, volume 100, issue 3, May 5, 2006, p.2464-2479.
3) Fuchs, A., Hu, B., Gordaninejad, F., Evrensel, C., "Synthesis and Characterization of Magnetorheological Polyimide Gels", Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 98, Issue 6, Dec. 15, 2005, pp. 2402-2413.
4) Fuchs, A., Xin, M., Gordaninejad, F., Wang, X., Hitchcock, G., Gecol, H., Evrensel, C., Karol, G., “Development and Characterization of Novel Magneto-Rheological Polymeric Gels”, Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Volume 92, Issue 2, 15 April 2004, p. 1176-1182.
5) Peng, S, Fuchs, A., Wirtz, R., "Polymeric Phase Change Composite for Thermal Energy Storage", Journal of Applied Polymer Science , Volume 93, Issue 3, 5 August 2004, p. 1240-1251.

Synergistic Activities
●Included undergraduate and high school students in research projects, recruited at local high schools, worked with Washoe County Gifted and Talented H.S Students.
●National AIChE, working on programming with Institute of Sustainability.
●Northern California AIChE, Sierra Section Director, organized speakers and presentations.

Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Fellows
Malcolm Wilson, M.S.ChE, Shuo Peng, Ph.D., Mei Xin, M.S.ChE, Ben Hu, Ph.D ChE, Kevin Trembath, Ph.D. ChE., Yuyi Shen, M.S.ChE, Manohar Nekkanti, M.S.ChE, Qi Zheng, M.S.ChE, Beril Kavlicoglu, M.S. ChE , Jake Elkins, M.S. ChE, Joko Sutrisno, M.S. ChE, Anu Adibathla, M.S. ChE (candidate), Irawan M.S. (candidate), Joko Sutrisno Ph.D. (candidate).

Graduate Advisors
Ph.D.: Dr. Nakho Sung, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
M.S.: Dr. Richard Heist, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York

List of Collaborators, last 48 months
C. Evrensel, F. Gordaninejad, W. Murphy, L. Welniak, B. Kavlicoglu, Y. Liu, all of the University of Nevada, Reno.

Other Activities
Fuchs is responsible for Chemical Engineering’s, Polymer Science and Engineering Laboratory.
He has more than 90 publications in peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations and proceedings, and patents.

Entrepreneurial – Technical and Engineering Charter High School    (E-TECHS) is an exciting new educational venture founded in response to the needs of local businesses and higher education institutions who desire a more focused project-based, career and technical curriculum for students interested in pursuing professional careers.  Our mission is to ensure that students will be given the opportunities, experiences and academic preparation needed for gainful employment and/or successful articulation to post secondary education upon graduation. 

Ricci Elkins is the Principal and one of the original founders of E-TECHS, Entrepreneurial - Technical & Engineering Charter High School. She has over 25 years experience working with non-profits and fourteen years of experience working with public charter schools.  She is a nationally recognized educational consultant, founder and Past President of the Center For Charter School Development, and is acknowledged by her peers as a leader in the industry. 

As an Associate and Project Specialist with Stark & Associates Commercial Real Estate, she specializes in the sale, lease, and acquisition of unique use facilities for schools, public agencies, day cares, educational businesses, churches, and nonprofit organizations.  In addition to facilities acquisition, her range of experience includes project management, facility financing, school planning and design, operational guidance, professional development, school improvement, and grant writing.

Ricci holds a Master's degree in Educational Administration and Supervision with a focus on Business Administration from Arizona State University.  She was chosen to participate with 23 others from throughout the United States, in a unique Fellowship program for charter school leaders at ASU, the Leadership for Education Entrepreneurs program. She also participated in the Dayton Charter School Incubator Project and is a NWREL Charter School Trainer.

Passionate about the importance of personal involvement in addressing community needs, Ricci serves as a board member of Sierra Nevada Journeys and Tune in to Kids.  Other voluntary affiliations include the Junior League of Reno, Washoe County Sheriff HASTY Team, the American Red Cross, and the Nevada Discovery Museum.