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UCR Solar Initiative Established to Spur Sunlight as Energy Source
Nov. 5, 2009
A new solar initiative was officially opened Nov. 5 at the University of California Riverside dedicated to spurring the adoption of solar power in Southern California through research, technology and education.
At the kickoff celebration, at the College of Engineering -Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT), UCR Chancellor Timothy White made a significant gesture to ensuring that the work of the new initiative finds its way into practical use.
“I am going to instruct our staff here at the University of California, Riverside, as we build from this day forward, that we use the appropriate developments from SC-RISE in powering green buildings, including our emerging School of Medicine,” said Chancellor White.
“That will be very important for us not only to talk the talk, but walk the walk, and take the ideas that are tested and established here at SC-RISE and apply them in the way we fill out this wonderful university campus.”
More than 150 people turned out for the kickoff of the So Cal Research Initiative for Solar Energy (SC-RISE) which intends to become a magnet for research and a clearinghouse for information to help operationalize the adoption of affordable solar energy in one of the world’s sunniest regions.
White recognized the vision of Riverside Mayor Ronald Loveridge who two days earlier had won his fourth term. Mayor Loveridge, the City Council and Riverside Public Utilities approved the start up funding for the solar initiative. Riverside, which promotes itself as “the City of Arts and Innovation” was recently named one of the world’s 21 Smartest Cities by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF). The Department of Conservation also recently recognized Riverside as one of the state’s greenest cities, designating it as California first “Emerald City.”
“We are committed to be in a green place,” Mayor Loveridge said, “and we see (SC-RISE) as a major place where we can participate.”
“When you look at the future of California I don’t know how you can see a good future without connecting with the work that takes place on this campus,” said Loveridge, who has had dual careers as a politician and a college professor.
“One of the more disappointing things (in my careers) has been the sort of separation of research and application, or diffusion of innovation, and what’s exciting about this center is It’s talking about research and application and training,” Loveridge continued. “It’s connecting something that needs to be connected – the best research at the University of California.
“I look forward to SE-RISE being a distinguishing center for us and UC Riverside–for us and Southern California–as an example of what the University of California does in taking its research and connecting it with best practices,” the mayor added.
Just before the ceremony more than two dozen engineers, educators and industry representatives spent two hours discussing the direction and potential of SC-RISE. Rajan Kasetty, CEO of Terrafore Inc., which is already collaborating with CE-CERT on solar energy storage technology, emphasized the promise of collaboration by researchers, public and private capital, and real world demonstrations to move technology forward. “The day will come,” he said, “when this will become the “go to” place for getting information and getting things done in solar energy.”
Reza Abbaschian, Dean of UCR’s Bourns College of Engineering, earlier traced the origin of SC-RISE to a four-party agreement made at the 50th anniversary celebration of the Sister City relationship between Riverside and Sendai City in Japan. UC Riverside and Sendai’s Tohoku University joined the two cities in challenging themselves to effective collaboration.
The track record of the CE-CERT as an “honest broker” in promoting science to improve environmental policy will be important to SC-RISE, according to Chancellor White.
CE-CERT “is the perfect home, the perfect crucible for this initiative to be successful. This initiative places us at the front edge of new and exciting technologies and it really continues the legacy of CE-CERT which is a national legacy of bringing together the very best minds – minds in academia, minds in industry, minds in government to find solutions to the most important issues that confront our society.
“(Honest broker) is really is the unique role of an American public university,” White said, “to be the place where ideas are tested but scientific data helps direct the outcome -- not politics, not wishful thinking but science. And in our world today we need to make certain that the big decisions that are made in policy, the big decisions that are made in investments by the private sector, the big decisions that are made by the public sector, be it at the local, the state or the national level, are based on the very best science.”
The Chancellor also presented a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Assembly offering best wishes to the success of the solar initiative.
University, City Begin Initiative to Spur Adoption of Solar Energy
Oct. 22, 2009
The University of California, Riverside will take a new step toward sustainable technologies with the formation of a research initiative into solar energy at a kick-off ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 5 at the Bourns College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT).
SC-RISE, the So Cal Research Initiative for Solar Energy will utilize CE-CERT’s long established role as an “honest broker” to establish alliances that can advance the effective utilization of solar power in southern California. CE-CERT and its Director Matt Barth will spearhead the initiative with nearly 20 years of environmental research and successful technology development.
Special guests for the SC-RISE ceremony will include UCR Chancellor Timothy P. White and Riverside Mayor Ronald O. Loveridge. Sustainability has been identified by Chancellor White as a major goal of the university and the City of Riverside has made an initial funding commitment to the effort.
Combining research, technology assessment and workforce training, SC-RISE plans to position itself in a unique way– serving as a focal point for solar energy research, applications, demonstrations and education. In key collaborations with Riverside, local solar energy companies, other academic institutions, and Japan’s Tohoku University, the initiative will form the nexus of academic, governmental and commercial interest in affordable solar power in our region.
“We applaud the City of Riverside for its forward thinking in partnering with the university on this initiative,” said Reza Abbaschian, dean of UCR’s Bourns College of Engineering. “It represents the kind of collaboration that universities, municipalities and other organizations must continually develop in order to ensure the new knowledge we create is used effectively for the benefit of the community.”
SC-RISE will begin with a three-fold mission:
- Research – collaborate with government agencies and industry to advance photovoltaic electricity technology and other renewable energy concepts;
- Demonstrate – assess and evaluate new technologies, offering end users independent information on efficiency and performance for various purposes;
- Training – assist regional colleges and others to prepare technicians, end users and the public about solar energy concepts, installations, maintenance, and operations.
By representing multiple perspectives, SC-RISE will identify the technical, infrastructure and other barriers to the full embrace of solar technologies in our region. The goal of SC-RISE is to stimulate the adoption of green solar energy across sun-kissed southern California through a variety of activities including research, education, pilot projects, and other technology demonstrations.
Port Emissions Researchers Present at National Conference
Oct. 22, 2009
Varalakshmi Jayaram (below left) and Yusuf Khan were among the only 19 graduate students invited to present at the METRANS National Urban Freight Conference 2009 held in Long Beach on Oct. 21-23.
The students are conducting CE-CERT emission studies of port operations in California. Port operations was one of seven focus areas of METRANS third national conference. The Center has recently pioneered measurements of emissions from port machinery and ocean going vessels.
Khan delivered his paper on "Emission Measurements at Sea." He is a second-year Chemical and Environmental Engineering student, at the Bourns College of Engineering.
Jayaram, a fourth-year graduate student in Chemical and Environmental Engineering, presented "Mitigating Emissions for Goods Movement with Modern Marine Engines and Cleaner Burning Fuels," in a session moderated by CE-CERT's Wayne Miller.
Center Researchers to Mentor High School Students on Environmental Research
Oct. 20, 2009
A group of lucky high school students of the Riverside Unified School District will get a boost in their science fair projects this year by working with research scientists and engineers at the College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT).
On Thursday, Oct. 22 students will visit CE-CERT for the second of two sessions intended to stimulate the study of Global Climate Change and other key environmental issues.
The idea behind the workshop is to create a greater understanding of issues related to Global climate change among Riverside-area high school science teachers, students, and their parents, according to Matthew Barth, CE-CERT Director.
Following the sessions, the student's teachers will select a number of students to be mentored in their science project research by CE-CERT faculty at the Center's laboratories.
"This is an opportunity for students and their teachers to observe the research methods that can be used in defining the issues and seeking solutions," Barth added.
This outreach effort is funded by the Bank of America which also provided funding for science fair equipment, supplies and materials. The results will be part of the Riverside Unified School District Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held on Feb. 16-18, 2010.
At Thursday's workshop, Barth will speak on "Transportation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions." Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering David Cocker will explain "Aerosol Formation in the Atmosphere." A second Chemical and Environmental Engineering faculty member will discuss "Why is it Difficult to Predict Climate?"
The first workshop was held on Oct. 15 when Chemical and Environmental Engineering lecturer Kawai Tam presented an overview of sustainability. Biofuels researcher Mirvat Ebrick explained "Biological Conversion of Cellulosic Biomass to Ethanol." Barth also made a presentation on "Solar Energy Systems."
These presentations cover some of the areas where the Center has active and ongoing research programs so high school researchers selected to work there would part of leading-edge science, Barth said.
IE Alumni Briefed on UCR Environmental Research Leadership
Oct. 14, 2009
Representatives from five generations of UCR alumni gathered at CE-CERT for a reception of the UCR Inland Empire Alumni Chapter on Tuesday, Oct. 13.
The gathering was noteworthy because there have been just six generations of alumni in the university’s history, commented Kyle Hoffman, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Alumni and Constituent Relations.
UCR’s New Vice Chancellor for University Advancement, Peter Hayashida was joined by Center Director Matt Barth and Reza Abbachian, Dean of the Bourns College of Engineering, in welcoming the Inland Empire Alumni Chapter to one of the University’s oldest and most active research centers.
Professor Barth presented a brief overview of the history and the groundbreaking research that is taking place at CE-CERT in transportation, vehicle emissions and energy efficiency and sustainability.
The highlight of the evening were tours of some of the CE-CERT laboratories dedicated to intelligent transportation, cellulosic ethanol fuel stock pretreatment, steam hydrogassification diesel fuel production, as well as the massive atmospheric research chamber which can reproduce the atmosphere’s formation of ozone, particulates and other complex forms of pollution.
(Top and bottom, UCR alumni are treated to a tour of the Center's Atmospheric Research Chamber. Middle, Center Director Matthew Barth reviews CE-CERT's research agenda.)
CE-CERT Celebrates 10 Years of Pioneering Pollution Measurement
Sept. 29, 2009
Researchers, students and faculty paused Sept. 29 to celebrate 10 years of achievement for one of the Center’s most visible tools for improving air quality.
Reza Abbaschian, Dean of the Bourns College of Engineering, and Matt Barth, Director of the Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) joined many of the people past and present who have contributed to the success of the “Mobile On-Road Heavy Duty Emissions Laboratory.”
The unassuming 53-foot tractor trailer truck, affectionately known at CE-CERT as MEL, can often be seen moving along California highways. But the truck is not carrying produce; it is a state-of-the-art laboratory actively sampling emissions from vehicles in their natural habitat – on the roads.
MEL has helped establish benchmarks and the scientific basis for state and federal air quality standards and regulations.
“This laboratory is used by the EPA to set national standards – that was never anticipated in the beginning,” said Wayne Miller (center at left) Manager of the Emissions and Fuels Group. Miller credited then-Center Director Joseph Norbeck for the vision of how it would fill the gap on diesel emissions data. Kent Johnson, Principal Development Engineer successfully implemented MEL with Don Pacocha operating the systems.
Today it conducts in-use emissions of many vehicles including trucks, locomotives and port equipment associated with commercial transport. It can also measure reactivity and chemical and physical characterization of emissions. MEL has played a key role in testing advanced emission control technologies. Most recently it has cataloged the emission characteristics of a wide range of bio-fuel formulations.
“This is a happy occasion for the campus, our college and CE-CERT as a whole,” said Dean Abbaschian. “It just shows what teamwork can do. There are the ideas, and then there is the entire team that takes the ideas and turns them into reality. You should be proud of what you have accomplished.”
(Left to right, Dean Reza Abbaschian, CE-CERT Director Matt Barth and Deputy Director Dennis Fitz toast the success of the Mobile Emissions Lab.) More News