As part of Navy Week in Milwaukee, Rear Admiral Matthew Pottenburgh, commander of the U.S. Naval Service Training Command,\u00a0made two stops at UWM on Wednesday to highlight the Navy’s partnership with UWM on educating veterans and in research to advance all-electric ships.<\/p>\n
UWM is Wisconsin’s top destination campus for student veterans. And the Navy has funded research on electric ships \u2013 work that will contribute to a more reliable U.S. electrical grid for everyone.<\/p>\n
Robert Cuzner, professor of electrical engineering, hosted a tour of his lab for Pottenburgh, <\/strong>UWM Provost Andrew Daire, UWM Vice Provost for Research Ali Abedi and Andy Graettinger, associate dean for research at the College of Engineering & Applied Science.<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s really not a naval ship that doesn’t have some kind of equipment on them that are specifically related to shipboard electrification,\u201d Pottenburgh said. \u201cAnd that research begins right here at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.\u201d<\/p>\n The U.S. Navy wants to move to smaller, all-electric ships because they are more efficient, pollute less and require less maintenance than traditional ships. Shipboard energy systems, when they are out of port, must provide their own power generation. Battery energy storage and unique power and energy conversion and delivery equipment mitigate the possibility of power outages to critical parts of the ship.<\/p>\n Cuzner specializes in devices and components that make up the unique power energy conversion and delivery equipment on ship. The technology that enables all of this is power electronics. Advances in power semiconductors and their application to circuits and devices make it possible to install equipment into electric ships having a smaller footprint.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat makes UWM unique is our connection to local industry partners who manufacture this equipment and our ability to develop and test this equipment,\u201d Cuzner said. \u201cWe can literally scale up systems in size and scope to the level needed to power a ship or any installation.\u201d<\/p>\n As a result, the researchers are gaining insights that not only aid engineers in the design and integration of equipment for ships but also how to help industry partners apply the same technologies needed to modernize the aging on-land electrical grid in the face of rising demand.<\/p>\n Cuzner has been involved in the Navy\u2019s quest for next-generation, all-electric ships for the last decade through UWM\u2019s Center for Sustainable Electrical Energy Systems. His lab’s current funding from the Office of Naval Research and Naval Sea Command stands at $3 million.<\/p>\n Electrical systems involve more than power plants generating the current. Energy needs to be\u00a0stored for use later and\u00a0distributed\u00a0to where it’s needed. The current also must be controlled\u00a0and managed. The voltage must be stepped up or down or modified to be compatible with the existing grid.<\/p>\n The power electronics-based systems that Cuzner is researching and testing accomplish these tasks. They are needed to make the on-land grid “smart,” where all parts of the system communicate in real time, and to integrate renewables sources into the grid.<\/p>\n The lab works with nearly 20 companies, such as Leonardo DRS, Eaton, Rehlko and Watt-EV, to bring these devices to the market for a wide range of applications. Many of those companies hire UWM graduates.<\/p>\n Pottenburgh also visited UWM\u2019s Military and Veterans Resource Center. The center brings together all the services for military and veteran students into one spot, including the Military Education Benefits Office and the VetSuccess on Campus office, as well as a lounge space and a quiet study computer lab.<\/p>\n The director of the center, Yolanda Medina, noted that MAVRC plays an important role in providing community for students who are veterans or in the military, both while in school and afterward. That sense of community is important, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to constantly remind our students that we’re not only here when you step through the door onto campus, but when you walk out the door as well,\u201d she said. \u201cWe’re going to maintain connection with our alumni for as long as we can, as long as they let us.\u201d<\/p>\nDevices for electric ships could curb outages on land and sea<\/h2>\n
What are power electronics?<\/h2>\n
University provides support<\/h2>\n