The research activity
of the Center is comprised of the independent and collaborative
work of the Alternative Renewable Energy Laboratory and
the Manufacturing and Automation Research Laboratory. Each
laboratory plays a different, yet extremely vital, role
in the mission of the Center; however, both laboratories
are interconnected in achieving the goals of the Center
and performing research that will meet the needs of society
without adversely affecting the quality of life for future
generations.
The Alternative Renewable Energy Laboratory (AREL) encompasses
programs aimed at developing expertise in the design, manufacture
and installation of products and systems that use renewable
energy sources such as solar energy and hydrogen fuel cells
as the main power supplies in rural or remote areas of the
world.
The Manufacturing and Automation Research Laboratory (MARL)
consists of three basic areas: (1) the application of nanotechnology
for medical applications, (2) the combination of rapid prototyping
and ‘smart’ materials for the manufacture and
development of customized intelligent devices and (3) the
development and deployment of tools and techniques for Environmentally
Conscious Design and Manufacturing (ECDM) for Sustainable
Development to meet the needs of a sustainable society.
Since its inception, the Center has provided research opportunities
for approximately 60 undergraduate and graduate students.
Of this total, over 75% has elected to continue their studies
on to the Master’s or Doctoral level. Alumni of the
Center have gone on to graduate studies at prestigious engineering
programs such as Cornell, Northwestern, Penn State and FAMU-FSU.
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