Energy and the Environment: Design and Innovation (2022-2023)

To explore the breadth of issues that confront our society in its need for clean, affordable and reliable energy, students on this team partnered with faculty on year-long projects focusing on identifying, designing and prototyping new energy technologies, systems or approaches. Subteams addressed the tradeoffs among technological design choices, environmental impacts, economic viability and other issues related to use. Their goal was to produce a useful prototype and evaluate its environmental benefits and viability. 

In 2022-2023, students created a low-budget prototype anaerobic digester to generate methane from Duke’s food waste, an energy information tool to increase transparency in Duke's energy usage, and a piezoelectric energy prototype.

Previous teams have focused on human energy harvesting, a smart HVAC system, algae windows, hog farm chemical recovery, a land footprint calculator, hand dryers on campus, Stirling engines fueled by neglected heat, storm energy, wind kite energy, student transportation, island grid resilience and emergency backup power, a folding electric skateboard, alternative refrigeration, the potential of incorporating green building concepts into college dorms, alternative use cases for flywheel energy storage and renewable microgrids in South Africa. Other projects have included a strategy proposal for encouraging growth in the hydrogen economy, a human-powered bicycle to filter urban water systems, electric and solar-powered vehicles, a biogas-powered generator and a green emergency power system.

Timing

Fall 2022 – Spring 2023

Team Outputs

Using Sound Waves and Vibrations to Generate Electricity (2023 Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Virtual Showcase)

Vibe-Energy (Poster by Mudit Agrawal, Robbie Amann, Didac Garcia-Grau, Morgan Linsley, Jordana Rockley and Misha Schiever, presented at Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase, April 19, 2023)

Gaining Access to Energy Usage Data at Duke (2023 Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Virtual Showcase)

Energy Informational Tool (Poster by Vincent Baker, Joshua Fairman, Thomas Livesay, Brooke Sanders and Thuan Tran, presented at Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase, April 19, 2023)

Generating Methane From Duke's Food Waste (2023 Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Virtual Showcase)

Feasibility Study of an On-Campus Anaerobic Digester (Poster by Spencer Hao, Ceci de la Guardia, Alberto Garcia Perez, Charlotte Brown, Tanvi Rajeev, Ryan Rosner, Michael Wood, Sharan Chawla, Ego Maduafokwa, Ben Eisinger and Bridget Zhu, presented at Fortin Foundation Bass Connections Showcase, April 19, 2023)

See related teams, Energy and Environment: Design and Innovation (2023-2024) and Energy and the Environment: Design and Innovation (2021-2022).

 

Image: Algae Windows, from the 2020-2021 team

Diagram of algae windows.

Team Leaders

  • Emily Klein, Nicholas School of the Environment-Earth and Climate Sciences
  • Josiah Knight, Pratt School of Engineering-Mechanical Engineering & Materials Science

/graduate Team Members

  • Robert Amann III
  • Egoagwuagwu Maduafokwa
  • Jide Olutoke, PPS Non-degree
  • Dhruv Jhaveri, Master of Environmental Management, Energy and Environment
  • Jennifer Ronderos, Master of Environmental Management, Energy and Environment
  • Abdedaim Battioui, PPS Non-degree
  • Mudit Agrawal

/undergraduate Team Members

  • Frank Wood III, Mechanical Engineering (BSE)
  • Thuan Tran, Political Science (AB)
  • Madison Stadem, Environmental Sciences (BS)
  • Misha Schiever, Economics (BS)
  • Ryan Rosner, Economics (BS)
  • Bridget Zhu, Mechanical Engineering (BSE)
  • Jordana Rockley, Robertson Scholarship - UNC
  • Abhinav Ratnagiri, Electrical & Computer Egr(BSE)
  • Tanvi Rajeev, Environmental Engineering(BSE)
  • Cecilia de la Guardia, Economics (BS)
  • Tommy Livesay, Mechanical Engineering (BSE)
  • Morgan Linsley, Economics (BS)
  • Hammond Humber, Mechanical Engineering (BSE)
  • Spencer Hao, Environmental Sciences (BS)
  • Didac Garcia-Grau, Economics (BS)
  • Alberto Garcia Perez, Chemistry (BS)
  • Joshua Fairman, Political Science (AB)
  • Benjamin Eisinger, Civil Engineering (BSE)
  • Sharan Chawla, Mechanical Engineering (BSE)
  • Arjun Chadha, Computer Science (BS)
  • Charlotte Brown, Political Science (AB)
  • Vincent Baker III, Mechanical Engineering (BSE)

Theme(s):