Student Energy Clubs and Organizations

University of Michigan’s Energy Club Ross is a student run organization, situated in the Ross School of Business. ECR promotes career development and provides an opportunity for students to learn and discuss energy subjects.

UM ECR has goals to provide members with education and employment opportunities in the energy industry that help members become leaders in energy transition. Most ECR programming occurs in the fall, including a renewable energy case competition, energy week, and consulting projects with energy companies.

Although the club is required to recruit at least 2/3rds Ross MBA students, it is open for participation from other energy backgrounds. If you are a student interested in joining, please visit their webpage. If you are faculty or an external party interested in learning more, please visit their webpage or reach out to IES and we can connect you with their leadership team.

Students for Clean Energy (SfCE) is an student organization at UM dedicated to promoting the use and education of clean energy on campus and in the local community in addition to building clean energy and sustainability advocates. We host energy related events and speakers throughout the school year, work with Michigan organizations and nonprofits to promote clean energy, and work on campus-wide projects. We welcome members of all majors and experience, and they can join our R&D team, which spearheads initiatives to implement clean energy projects on campus, our Policy team, which advocates for clean energy and energy efficiency with the UM administration and broader MI state, and/or the Engagement team, which helps us plan our exciting energy and social events. 

They want to focus this coming year on events and lessons that help further engage in energy justice. Students interested in joining SfCE do not need to apply, but should follow webpage instructions for joining activities with SfCE. If you are faculty or an external party interested in SfCE, please contact [email protected].

The UM Solar Car team is a student run organization that designs, builds, and races solar electric vehicles. The team has 150+ active members and 20-25 race crew members, with over 30 different majors represented. Although the team is entrenched in the automotive world, members enter the team with mixed interests in energy systems and automotive systems.

UMSCT has goals to create a community with shared goals towards renewable energy, compete in key competitions (including the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, the American Solar Challenge, and the Michigan Sun Run), collaborate with internal and external partners, and to educate.

Students on UMSCT also use the solar car and its performance as a spring board for different research initiatives.

If you are a student interested in joining UMSCT, please reach out to their website and apply for the team. If you are faculty interested in their work or an external partner interested in working with UMSCT, please reach out to UMSCT team members or reach out to IES and we can connect you with their leadership team.

University of Michigan Aquaponics is a new student organization starting fall of 2024. The group consists of a technical team focused on aquaponics infrastructure, an ecology team focused on ecological balance and species maintenance, a business team focused on partnerships and funding development, and a computer team focused on automation efforts.

The team is focused on building a flagship system at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens to supply campus food outlets with produce grown in a more energy and material efficient process. If you are interested in joining, please see the UM Aquaponics Application.

Although aquaponics is not focused exclusively on energy, it does use less energy intensive processes for land and nutrient maintenance and it does hold promise for coupling with solar systems.