Clean Energy Systems Lab

Students develop sustainable energy, water and transportation solutions through hands-on research and design. The lab addresses global clean energy challenges.

The Clean Energy Systems Lab empowers students to develop real-world solutions to some of the most urgent global challenges — energy security, clean water access and sustainable infrastructure. Through hands-on research and design, students explore critical topics, including sustainable transportation, green building technologies and water purification systems.

Student design teams in the lab are working on impactful projects such as:

Solar-powered water filtration systems that transform contaminated water into clean, drinkable water — ideal for disaster relief and developing regions.

Smart transportation initiatives that use real-time driving data to reduce traffic congestion, lower emissions and improve energy efficiency.

Energy efficiency monitoring in the ACE Lab (Adaptable Clean Energy Lab), a state-of-the-art net-zero energy building used as a living testbed for clean energy technologies.

Beyond classroom research, the lab is home to the Pure Water Student Club, an interdisciplinary team that developed the Aqua Pack — a compact, backpack-based water purification system designed to deliver clean drinking water to underserved communities in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

As one of four specialized laboratories available to M.S. and Ph.D. students in Mechanical Engineering, the Energy Systems Lab offers unique opportunities for graduate students to engage in high-impact, interdisciplinary research that makes a difference locally and globally.

This space is card-access controlled, enabling student researchers to work in the space on their own schedule with faculty permission, and is used as part of the Mechanical Engineering senior design for the energy systems track.

Equipment

• Office area with nine PCs, color printer and office supplies
• Indoor lab area (1,670 square feet) with two PCs, hand tools, welding and cutting, drilling tools and HVAC equipment
• Adaptable Clean Energy (ACE) Laboratory, which is a 20-foot x 8-foot, net-zero solar-powered laboratory
• Two Enerac M700 portable emissions analyzers from EPA-sponsored research
• John Deere XUV855D-S4 Diesel four-seater campus vehicle for mobility experiments
• Vehicle-mounted PC, camera, GPS and inertial measurement unit (IMU) for data collection while driving for deep learning and telemetry experiments
• Biomass materials characterization laboratory equipment
• Two reverse osmosis water purifiers for the Pure Water Project
• Heat pump water heater test rig