Rowan university's clean energy program

Rowan University has established a clean energy program (CEP). This program utilizes undergraduate students working for credit during the semester, and for pay during the summer months, as well as graduate students - all clean energy interns, to promote energy efficiency and clean energy sources within the state of New Jersey. The CEP has been funded through various sources, allowing equipment, travel, graduate tuition and stipends, as well as summer salary for undergraduate students. Services rendered have included hosting symposia, wind and solar resource evaluation, energy audits, participation in grassroots efforts, as well as website maintenance. The strong belief that this program provides valuable services to the community has led to outstanding efforts on the part of the students. The clean energy projects have been an excellent way to address many of the ABET A-K criteria. These team-based, multidisciplinary projects have been especially effective at driving home the importance of environmentalism and the need for engineers to be leaders and communicators during policy discussions. The projects also reinforce and expand on core academic subjects through hands-on experience. While homeowners, businesses, farmers, schools and municipalities have benefited from the collective experience of the clean energy program, the participating students, including the lead author on this paper, are preparing for the modern practice of engineering. This paper will present the societal and pedagogical benefits of the project.