Energy Events

On Wednesday, February 5th, Shalanda Baker, Vice Provost for Sustainability and Climate Action, will present on equitable implementation of federal climate policies and investments

When: Noon to 1 PM

Where: Jeffries Hall, 1020

Where: TBD

When: 3:30 – 4:30 PM

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On Tuesday, February 11, 2025, Jonathan Smith, Senior Chief Deputy Director from Labor and Economic Opportunity, will be presenting for the SEAS Leadership Speaker Series.

When: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Where: DANA 2315 and livestreamed

The University of Michigan Urban Collaboratory and the Center for Risk Analysis Informed Decision Engineering invites you to a 1-1/2 day summit on Electric – Water Utility Resiliency on February 13 and 14 at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor NCRC campus. Co-sponsors include the Great Lakes Water Authority, Consumers Energy, DTE, and ITC.

This first-of-its-kind summit will bring together key infrastructure providers from Michigan to collaborate on creating regional resilience.

Join us for fascinating interactive discussions and action planning.

Day 1 (February 13, 9 am – 4 pm)

Discussions of resilience challenges and potential among all participants to frame issues and solutions. The session includes a light lunch.

Day 2 (February 14, 9 am – 12 pm). Day 2 is already at capacity

Interactive development of cross-organizational teams and action plans to address the key issues raised during Day 1 to increase resilience in Southeast Michigan.

Abstract: 

Optimal control in large-scale systems, such as energy distribution networks, automated manufacturing, and traffic management, presents significant opportunities to enhance energy efficiency, sustainability, and system resilience. However, these opportunities are accompanied by substantial challenges due to the size and complexity of the problems. Traditional methods, including model order reduction and partitioning techniques, often face issues such as model instability, loss of critical features (e.g., accurate capture of congested traffic flow), and problems with suboptimality and infeasibilities.

In certain cases, such as traffic systems, modeling these systems as partial differential equations (PDEs)—which are continuous in both space and time—offers a more natural representation of interactions between vehicles. This contrasts with traditional multi-agent frameworks that require explicit modeling of interactions, often complicating the optimization process with additional constraints.

Directly operating on the PDEs governing these systems is presented as a compelling alternative. However, this emerging field of PDE optimal control faces challenges such as the infinite dimensionality of the system and the absence of established energy metrics in contexts like traffic management.

In this seminar, the novel concept of macroscopic energy equations will be examined, and the application of Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) control for managing traffic flow, particularly in automated and connected vehicles, will be explored. The seminar will conclude by discussing how this novel control framework enables energy minimization and can be generalized and applied to broader energy systems.

Monday, February 17, 2024, 11:00 am

2540 ME Grand Conference Room, GG Brown

Seminar Zoom Link

Harnessing energy from ocean waves has the potential to meet up to 34% of U.S. electricity demand, offering a predictable and reliable energy source that complements wind and solar. Its high forecastability and predictability could reduce energy storage requirements and significantly enhance energy security. However, the full-scale deployment of wave energy converters (WECs) has been hindered by high costs, lengthy design cycles, and investment risks, stemming in part from traditional sequential design methods that fail to account for critical subsystem interactions. This seminar will present our recent advancements in WEC design using multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) and control co-design (CCD), which have demonstrated significant reductions in electricity costs and substantial decreases in power variability. Central to this progress is our semi-analytical model, which enables rapid, accurate simulations for iterative optimization across WEC geometry, hydrodynamics, control, and structural design. Additionally, this talk will explore the first MDO framework for WEC farm optimization developed by our group, focusing on WEC dimensions, farm layout, and control strategies to minimize energy production costs and farm size. We will also present advanced computational methods that capture both near-field and far-field wave effects of WEC farms, illustrating their ability to dampen downstream waves and significantly reduce fatigue stress on co-located offshore wind turbines. This impact is intricately linked to the WEC control strategy, emphasizing the importance of integrated design and optimization. Beyond electricity generation, WECs hold potential for powering offshore aquaculture, desalination, carbon sequestration, and autonomous underwater vehicles, further contributing to both energy security and maritime operations. This talk will highlight how a multidisciplinary approach to WEC design can address key barriers to wave energy adoption, providing resilient and scalable solutions to strengthen energy security in the evolving global energy landscape.

Wednesday, February 19, 2024, 9:00 am

2540 ME Grand Conference Room, GG Brown

Seminar Zoom Link

Achieving a sustainable, low-carbon future necessitates transformative technological innovations across industrial processes and systems, including our food systems. However, decarbonizing these systems poses significant challenges due to their large scale, complex physics, dynamic uncertainties, and operational constraints, which together complicate decision-making. In this talk, I will discuss the development and application of reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms–a type of artificial intelligence (AI)–to tackle these challenges, with a focus on decarbonizing controlled environment agriculture (CEA), an emerging cornerstone of sustainable future food systems. Specifically, I will present RL-driven strategies for minimizing energy consumption in plant factories under diverse climatic conditions. Thereafter, I will introduce multi-agent RL frameworks that enhance the resilience of urban food networks through demand-responsive energy management in renewable energy-integrated greenhouses. Together, these approaches support the decarbonization of CEA by reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions, thereby promoting sustainable food production. Extending beyond CEA, I will highlight the broader applications of AI in decarbonizing chemical and biological manufacturing systems, and offer insights into how these approaches can drive the transition to resilient, low-carbon systems.
Wednesday, February 26, 2024, 9:00 am

2540 ME Grand Conference Room, GG Brown

Seminar Zoom Link

On Wednesday, February 26th, Riyaz Kanji will present on tribal EJ in the line 5 oil pipeline dispute.

When: Noon to 1 PM

Where: Jeffries Hall, 1020

Thermal energy systems rely on efficient, sustainable, and scalable heat and mass transfer processes. Phase change heat transfer plays a vital role in many of these systems due to its effectiveness in transporting thermal energy but is often limited in its ability to adapt to large fluctuations in energy supply and demand—an issue that is becoming increasingly important. To address this challenge, new strategies to monitor and control phase change processes in real-time are essential.

In the first part of this talk, I will discuss the fundamental hydrodynamic and heat transfer mechanisms of boiling and condensation and demonstrate how multiphase flow and phase change can be actively controlled using low-energy acoustic actuation. Specifically, I will show how low-frequency sound can manipulate liquid-vapor distributions to generate flow regimes with lower thermal resistance, while high-frequency sound can control nucleation and bubble dynamics. In the second part of this talk, I will discuss how these fundamental studies and control techniques can be applied to autonomously operate and optimize thermal hydraulic experiments and practical thermal energy systems. By integrating physics-based control with automation, my work aims to improve the efficiency, adaptability, and resilience of next-generation energy systems.

Thursday, February 27, 2024, 11:00 am

2540 ME Grand Conference Room, GG Brown

Seminar Zoom Link

Join Michigan EIBC for a public convening to explore and learn about the many potential roles for hydrogen in our transportation, industrial, and power sectors. The event will include networking/lunch, a panel discussion with industry experts, and an optional tour of Michigan CAT’s Lansing facility.

Tentative agenda:

11:45 – Registration, Lunch, Networking

12:15 – Presentation + Panel Discussion

2:00 – Tour

Register here.

On Tuesday, March 11, 2025, Regina Strong from EGLE will be presenting for the SEAS Leadership Speaker Series.

When: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Where: DANA 2315 and livestreamed

On Monday, March 17th, 2025, Patrice Simms from EarthJustice will present on the future of Title VI and environmental justice.

When: Noon to 1 PM

Where: Jeffries Hall, 1020

Wednesday, March 19, 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Increasingly, community institutions are equipping their facilities with renewable and reliable backup power – solar paired with battery storage systems – as part of their efforts to become a Resilience Hub. Join Region 2 Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Center (TCTAC) in this virtual training where Clean Energy Group will delve into resilient power topics and provide time for the audience to ask any questions about designing a Resilience Hub. Register here.

On Tuesday, April 15, 2025, Hilary Doe, Chief Growth Officer from State of Michigan, will be presenting for the SEAS Leadership Speaker Series.

When: 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Where: DANA 2315 and livestreamed

On Wednesday, April 9th, Alyssa Johl and Naomi Spoelman will present on Big Oil’s Climate Deception

When: Noon to 1 PM

Where: Jeffries Hall, 1020