Major: M.S. in Engineering

Blue skies make life green

While getting his Master of Science in Engineering degree, Adam McMillen decided to delve into green power for his thesis work. McMillen joined a project to provide clean, renewable energy to the utility grid by placing a solar photovoltaic (PV) array on the roof of the Student Life and Campus Center.

 "What was attractive about the project is that it was very interdisciplinary," McMillen said. Professors from several degrees, including mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science, architectural engineering and building construction and physics and chemistry as well as staff from the Applied Technology Center were involved and another graduate student in structural engineering.

These solar photovoltaic panels generate electric power from incident solar radiation - or directly from light - instead of heat like some panels. McMillen's research produced an energy map of the roof indicating locations that would yield the highest volume of energy yearly, 29 kilowatts at peak performance. 

Once in place this summer, the array will act as a lab for undergraduate students in the mechanical, electrical and architectural engineering programs to gain better understanding of a PV system including its engineering requirements, system performance, system maintenance and life-cycle costs. The project also increases awareness of renewable energy technologies.

We Energies and the State of Wisconsin's Focus on Energy program helped fund the project. For more information, please contact the project leader, Dr. Christopher Damm, assistant professor, Mechanical Engineering, at (414) 277-7543 or via e-mail.