Students and faculty at UWM’s College of Engineering & Applied Science have once again been recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy as national leaders in the areas of manufacturing and industrial energy efficiency, waste and water use reduction, smart manufacturing, energy management systems, productivity improvement and cybersecurity.
Led by engineering graduate students Ahmad Abdelhadi and Omar Habash, UWM’s team wrote a research proposal that, in August, took high honors in the 2022-23 Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) Awards for Excellence in Applied Energy Engineering Research competition, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Manufacturing Office.
Ryo Amano, professor and Richard & Joanne Grigg Fellow, mechanical engineering, was the team’s advisor.
The team will receive a grant of $25,000 to conduct their project and will present it at the DoE webinar in spring.
The highly competitive, nationwide competition drew research proposals from 39 DoE-funded, university-based industrial assessment centers, or IACs. Eight were awarded high honors this year. These IACs conduct energy assessments for small and mid-sized companies and identify opportunities to improve productivity and competitiveness, reduce waste, and save energy.
About the IAC UWM’s DOE IAC—under the direction of Amano—is the only one in Wisconsin. The IAC provides free, in-depth energy assessments to small- and medium-sized manufacturers and utilities. The goal is to increase their productivity and competitiveness by reducing energy and water consumption, enhancing cybersecurity, and adopting smart manufacturing technology. To date, more than 600 companies and water treatment plants have used the center’s services. On average, they received energy-consumption recommendations to save about $150,000 annually, higher than the national IAC average of $130,000.