Student Energy Clubs and Organizations
Energy Club Ross
Michigan Ross School of Business Campus Group Page
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.
Student for Clean Energy
University of Michigan Students for Clean Energy web page
Maize Pages Link with Information for Joining
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].
University of Michigan Solar Car Team
University of Michigan Solar Car Team web page
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
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. For any inquiries or collaboration opportunities, kindly include our email: [email protected]
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.
Student Sustainability Coalition
Student Sustainability Coalition Webpage
The Student Sustainability Coalition is a group of university-employed students dedicated to building a culture of sustainability at the UM Ann Arbor campus. SSC’s guiding mission is to act as a bridge between students, student organizations, and administration to advance shared goals of social and environmental sustainability.
Working with cross-campus partners (School for Environment and Sustainability, the Office of Campus Sustainability) and within Student Life (U-M Sustainable Food Program, Cultural Organizers, as well as with various additional student organizations on campus, SSC aims to support and align sustainability efforts across campus through intersectional programming and a robust grant portfolio.
ElectroChemical Society (ECS) at the University of Michigan Student Chapter
ECS University of Michigan Student Chapter was chartered in 2023 to bring together students interested in electrochemistry across departments at the University of Michigan, and foster connections with the larger electrochemistry community. Our members encompass a diverse range of interests, from solid-state batteries to photochemistry to corrosion to electrolysis. We host seminars, facility tours, social events, and monthly journal clubs, as well as other opportunities for networking and professional development.
Michigan Hydrogen Club
Michigan Hydrogen Club Webpage
The newly formed Michigan Hydrogen Club functions as the student branch of the University of Michigan’s MI Hydrogen within the College of Engineering’s Institute for Energy Solutions, in collaboration with the School for Environment and Sustainability and its Center for Sustainable Systems. We bridge the gap between MI Hydrogen’s academic experts, professional connections, and all University of Michigan students to expand access to hydrogen energy education for a healthier future. Our goal is to aid in the development of future energy sector leaders to contribute to clean and just energy transitions, in which hydrogen fuel use can play a pivotal role, by creating an enduring energy education and cleantech innovation resource hub for all University of Michigan students.
Wolverine Omni Wind
Wolverine Omni Wind is a student-led organization that seeks to promote the development of and research into offshore and onshore wind energy technologies. Our work includes designing, building, and testing prototype model wind turbines and turbine components, developing siting and financial plans for the implementation of wind farms, and conducting other research focused on the development of wind technologies. Throughout our work we engage with members of the wind and offshore wind industries.
We participate in the Clean Energy Workforce Competition (CWC+) hosted by REPowering Schools, which challenges students to design a wind farm, build and test a wind turbine prototype for that farm, and engage with communities to promote renewable energy.
We seek students of all backgrounds to join us in our work, which represents an excellent opportunity to learn more about wind and renewable energy more broadly while developing valuable industry and academic connections.
University of Michigan Electric Boat
University of Michigan Electric Boat designs, builds, and races an electric boat to compete in multiple events. Past events include the Promoting Electronic Propulsion competition (PEP) hosted by the American Society of Naval Engineers, where we compete against other college teams, and the Lake of the Ozarks (LOTO) Shootout in Missouri, where we compete against professional teams and companies. We also plan to host private testing and competition events in the future.
Our team’s next major project is an endurance boat designed to break the world record for the longest distance traveled by an electric boat in 24 hours. The team will operate on a two-year design cycle, with the project starting in the spring of 2026 and concluding in the summer of 2028.
Our team offers students the unique opportunity to work on a full-scale boat project. We are not limited by a ruleset or competition, only by our desire to create a unique, one-of-a-kind, world-class electric race boat. We work with the best individuals and companies in the high performance boating and electric powertrain world, design and fabricate custom battery packs, manufacture custom mechanical components, bring our boats to life with complex electrical and computer systems, test and validate all components and the boat as a whole, and compete to demonstrate our world class project and break records.
More Student Organizations to be added
IES is engaging in conversations with student organizations and expanding our catalog of student organizations listed. If you are faculty, staff, or student and you want another student organization added to this list, please reach out to IES at [email protected]. Thank you!