For the fifth consecutive year, a team of students from the University of Wisconsin–Madison has been invited to compete in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Collegiate Wind Competition.
The competition challenges multidisciplinary teams of undergraduate students to develop a project plan based on wind energy market and siting considerations, design and build a model wind turbine, and test their turbine in a wind tunnel against a set of rigorous performance criteria.
The participating teams combine the expertise of students from a variety of programs, such as engineering, business, communications, and social science, to develop state-of-the-art wind energy solutions. Students mix academic coursework with hands-on learning and gain valuable real-world experience as they prepare to enter the workforce.
“It is tremendously exciting to be selected again to compete in this prestigious and rewarding competition,” says Scott Williams, research and education coordinator at the Wisconsin Energy Institute and lead advisor to the team. “This selection is a testament to the knowledge and technical skill that UW–Madison’s students have consistently displayed in this competition since 2016.”
The multidisciplinary WiscWind team is already deep in preparations for the 2020 Collegiate Wind Competition in June in Denver.
With the invitation to compete in 2021 as well, Williams and the returning WiscWind students will begin recruiting new members to fill out the team after the summer competition. That new team will attend the 2021 competition, the date and location of which is yet to be announced.
In addition to UW–Madison, the colleges and universities selected to participate in the Collegiate Wind Competition 2021 are:
- Brigham Young University
- California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo
- California State University Maritime Academy
- James Madison University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Kansas State University
- Northern Arizona University
- Texas Tech University
- The Pennsylvania State University
- University of Maryland
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Washington State University – Everett