Energy Technology Students Awarded a KRELF Grant

We recently received the news that our KRELF application was recently accepted by the review committee. Funds will be used to purchase solar cells, batteries, a motor and other components to build a vehicle to compete in the 2012 Shell EcoMarathon in Houston. The team of students represents all three University of Montana campuses, with students from Environmental Sciences, Energy Technology and Welding all collaborating to build a competitive vehicle.

REVIT Training - January 16

REVIT is a building information modeling (BIM) software product created by AutoDESK. It has been described as the revolutionary architectural design tool for all new construction. The Computer Aided Design program is sponsoring a week-long REVIT training beginning January 16th. Interest within the community has been high and registration will be limited to the first 20 applicants. Course instruction will be delivered by BIM guru Eugene O'Day. All students entering the class are expected to possess a strong background in CAD as the delivery will be paced for the intermediate/advanced user. For further information contact Krisztian Varsa krisztian.varsa@umontana.edu | 406.243.7920

New Interactive Map Launched for the PV industry

The US Department of Energy recently launched an interactive career map to help those considering entering the field of sustainable energy technology.

The map assists the user in understanding the inter-relatedness of various occupations within the various fields of sustainable energy technology.

Layton Gives talk on Thermoeconomics at ASME International conference in Denver, Monday November 14, 2011

Professor Layton traveled to Denver in mid-November to present his paper, entitled "Application of Game Theory to Thermoeconomics." During the presentation, Layton attempted to impress upon his audience that the rate at which we are currently converting chemical, nuclear, and short-wave radiant energy into thermal energy energy is clearly unsustainable. While the global rate is 200 megajoules per person per day, the average North American's rate is 1200 megajoules per day. By contrast, each person converts only 10 megajoules per day metabolically. He also introduced a relationship between information and entropy that he has been examining for the past few years and postulated that humanity entropicizes its immediate environment at a rate 10²² greater than the background entropy generation rate of the universe and noted that we can no longer escape our own entropy as evidenced by much of the thaw that is occurring in Greenland exacerbating the Fukushima disaster of March 2011, which in turn led to further entropization of the Pacific ocean. Layton was also dismayed by the unwillingness of many of the able-bodied conference participants to boycott the escalators in the conference center.

Layton fielding technical questions at the conclusion of his talk, demonstrates some of the strategies he practices to stay physically fit, keep organic material out of landfills, reduce loads on municipal waste management, and enrich the soil in his own backyard. Photo courtesy of Leila Aboharb.

Biomimicry Design Challenge

Students in the CAD Program are currently competing in the first annual Biomimicry Design Challenge. The Challenge is a global design competition (nearly 40 international teams!) in which students will apply the principles of biomimicry to improve energy efficiency and ultimately reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In biomimicry, designers are inspired by organisms, systems, or processes of the natural world. For more information, Janine Benyus of the Biomimicry Institute presents Biomimicry In Action.

Over the course of the semester, students enrolled in Technical Drawing and AutoCAD II will generate ideas, draw hand sketches, ,and produce 3D models to prepare for their presentation to the judges at the Biomimicry Institute. This competition is exciting for the College of Technology because the home of the Biomimicry Institute is in Missoula so we consider ourselves the hometown favorite. Recently, Technical Drawing students completed the first round of ideation which resulted in a variety of excellent ideas and designs. The students will pick one design and then hone the project. Cheer us on as we head for the deadline of December 21st!

Janine Benyus describes Biomimicry in the following TED talk:

Energy Technology OSHA Training

Montana Department of Labor and Industry Safety and Health Bureau Chief Bryan Page inspects Energy Technology student Chris Marmorato as he dons a safety harness as Energy Technology student Timothy Cardarelli looks on. On November 3rd and 4th, seventeen Energy Technology students and alums participated in the ten-hour OSHA safety training course.

And here is the happy group of trainees after a well-delivered ten-hour session!

I.T. Students Tour Local Data Center

The Washington Corporation hosted a group of I.T. students on a tour of their newly renovated corporate data center. The data center located here in Missoula centralizes I.T. services for all companies in the Washington Corporation global operations group. Thanks to Tim, Andy, Chris, and Drew at Washington Corporation for providing this great opportunity to our students.

Students Compete in Programming Contest

Students from the Information Technology program competed in the Montana State ACM Programming Contest held Saturday, September 24. Shawn Dennis, Larry Mee, and Ray Naranjo represented the UM-COT campus in this annual event hosted at Montana State University in Bozeman. This group of students competed with Computer Science students from UM , MSU, Montana Tech, & Carroll College. Each team had 5 hours to solve 5 problems. "It was a wonderful opportunity for our students" states Instructor Rhonda Tabish, faculty advisor for the UM COT Programming Team.

Further information can be found on contest website http://www.cs.montana.edu/paxton/contest/

Changes on the Horizon for Montana Two-year Colleges

The Montana University System is undergoing a major transformational change for two-year colleges. This effort, known as College!NOW is funded through the Lumina Foundation for Education and has received national recognition.

Deputy Commissioner John Cech has provided a comprehensive update of the accomplishments of College!NOW since January 1, 2011, and an overview of the five community listening sessions planned for October (Billings, Great Falls, Butte, Helena, and Missoula) focusing on the rebranding and renaming of Montana’s five Colleges of Technology.

Sessions in Missoula will take place on Thursday, Oct 13 from 7:15-8:30am Doubletree-100 Madison-UM Room; 9:00-10:15am-UM Main Campus-32 Campus Dr-University Ctr. Theatre-3rd Floor,5:00–6:15 pm-COT Campus-909 S. Ave. West-HB 11

The first College!NOW newsletter is available at http://www.umt.edu/president/docs/CollegeNOW_enews_FINAL.pdf or on the website: http://mus.edu/2yr/COLLEGEnow/news/CollegeNow_eNews.html

Energy Professor Directs Rowing Instruction

Professor Brad Layton is slated to deliver two session on rowing techniques on the ergometer through UM Campus Recreation Fitness Programs. The sessions are slated for Wednesday, September 21 12:00-1:00pm and 4:30-5:30pm. Brad is a former US Rowing Team member and Rowing National Champion

Student Wins Undergraduate Research Award

Department of Applied Computing & Electronics student Clayton Anderson recently completed a research project involving variable power states in computing labs on the COT East campus. Clayton's research, entitled "Energy Usage Study of Student Computing Facilities at the University of Montana" won the best oral presentation in the category of Physical Sciences at 2011 UM Undergraduate Research Conference. Associate Professor Tom Gallagher was Anderson's faculty mentor. Using power management software, a MS Windows GPO provided by Energy Star, routine schedules, and regular idle periods between classes Anderson's plan applied to the 6 computer labs on the COT East Campus would save the University of Montana approximately 9,684 kWh or 6.82 metric tons of CO2 annually. Clayton and all the other winners were honored at the Mansfield Library undergraduate research exhibition and each received a $100 gift card to the UM Bookstore.

Energy Interns Complete Solar Installation

UM Energy Technology students Ryan Parks and Robert Holter interned with Simple Power’s owner Mark Dickson and crew Brad Stevens, Jona Malo, Lyle Pilon, and Mike McCraken to install the Montana’s largest PV array to this point. The array weighs in at 70KW of output and is located on a private ranch near Choteau Montana. The grid tie array utilizing Sanyo panels and Fronius inverters is not only the largest in the state but it is the first in the area to use the German manufactured Solar Linea (by Conergy) rack system. According to owner Mark Dickerson “the install went very well, the crew worked well together and the installation came together with few problems in the field showing the benefit of having time to think through the design and implementation of project anticipating most all of the problems prior to starting. The system has gone through the final commissioning process and has an output of 105% of the expected rated output, and the new owner is very satisfied stating “I feel like we really have done something here!”

MS Network Administrator Academy

The College of Technology will be hosting a Microsoft Networking Academy beginning June 15. The course is taught by Dianne Burke, a faculty member from the Applied Computing and Electronics Department. The course starting next week is one of a three-part series in MS Windows Server 2008. View the entire schedule and get an application here.

Human Powered Vehicle Challenge

University of Montana students, primarily in the Energy Technology program, competed in the West Division of the Human Powered Vehicle Challenge in Bozeman, MT. This was the first year that UM joined the competition. Captained by Marty Lamb, who graduated from the Energy Technology program the same weekend, the team won the award for sustainablity. Read the whole Missoulian article here.

Addional Sections: ITS 210 & ITS 280

Due to increased enrollment, additional sections of ITS 210 Network O.S. - Desktop and ITS 280 Computer Repair and Maintenance have been added to the Autumn 2011 schedule.

Missoula 2011 Commuter Challenge

The faculty & staff from the Applied Computing and Electronics Department (ACE) will be competing in their first annual Commuter Challenge during the week of May 1st – 7th. In the face of rising gas costs and concerns of global warming, the Missoula community takes to the sustainable streets every May to prove their ability to get out of their cars and into alternative transportation! This year, ACE will help to promote sustainable practices on campus and across the community by biking and carpooling to the College of Technology. Join the Ace Department in our effort to reduce our carbon footprint and increase awareness!

CAD Bike Rack Design Finalists

Congratulations to Mike Eidum, Kyle Scharfe, and Mic Smith. All were finalists in the AutoCAD Bike Rack Design competition held Autumn Term. Designs were assessed in the areas of feasibility, sustainability, design character, and technical drawing quality. Mic placed third with commendations for feasibility and sustainability. Kyle second with commendations for design character and feasibility. Mike's design placed first and was chosen as the overall best technical drawing earning a gift card to the UM bookstore. Congratulations to all participants and finalists.

Autumn Term Registration and Advising

Autumn Term 2011 registration for COT students begins April 6th. Students will need an advising PIN to register. Drop-in group advising sessions are scheduled for Applied Computing & Electronics students:
Wednesday, March 23 from 2 – 3 in HB04
Monday, March 28 from 12 – 1 in HB05
Tuesday, March 29 from 12 – 1 in HB04

Online advising forms are available at http://ace.cte.umt.edu/students/advising.html Please come prepared by completing the requirements checklist for your program of study prior to attending advising sessions. You should have a pretty good idea which courses to enroll.

Individualized advising with a faculty member is available by appointment. Please contact Jenny Gorsegner/Miranda Stroud (243.7916) for further details.

Brown Bag Webinar: Spatial Data Sets

Students and faculty attended the "brown bag" webinar entitled Introduction to Spatial Data Sets. The webinar was produced by ESRI and hosted Thursday by the Department of Applied Computing & Electronics. ArcGIS software was used to graphically represent statistical data sets from practical research. Examples included studies involving obesity rates in children, incidents of pirating off the Somalian coast, wealth distribution in the State of New York, graffiti locations and gang related activities, and crime pattern in Lincoln, NE. Spatial data is based upon physical location. Spatial Statistical Tools allow us to assess patterns, trends, and relationships.

UM Biomass Gasifier Generates Electricity

Faculty member Brian Kerns and Energy Technology student Mike Bergman demonstrate the use of biomass gasification to generate electricity in the Blackfoot valley. The mobile UM Biomass Generator was utilized to generate electricity to the grid from slash piles located on the Paws Up Ranch. All electricity was donated to the Missoula Electric Coop. The UM Biomass Generator is a demonstration project created through Brian's research. Mike Bergman is completing an internship through Alternative Energy Technologies. See complete coverage courtesy of the Missoulian
http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_125cccf4-3fd6-11e0-b619-001cc4c03286.html