August 28, 2007

Left to right: Richard H. Brown (Brown Foundation); Lynn Bechtel (General Motors Corporation); Kathy Burgess (Ford Motor Company); Roy H. Link (donor); James B. McKeon (donor); Satish Udpa (Engineering Dean); Lou Anna K. Simon (MSU President); Kim Wilcox (MSU Provost); Eann Patterson (Chairperson, Department of Mechanical Engineering); John D. (Jack) Withrow (donor); Pete Hoekstra (U.S. Congressman); Ian Gray (MSU Vice President for Research & Graduate Studies)

Michigan State University’s College of Engineering is set to lead the way toward more environmentally responsible and economical ways to power transportation and industry with the opening of the new Energy & Automotive Research Laboratories.

In the $10 million, 29,000-square-foot research complex, which was dedicated Aug. 24, researchers will identify ways to realize greater fuel efficiency, determine how to collect waste heat and convert it to electricity and work to develop new biobased fuels.

“Energy is one of the single most important issues facing us today,” said Eann Patterson, chairperson of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. “The United States has just under 5 percent of the world’s population, yet accounts for 25 percent of world petroleum consumption.”

Every day, Americans consume 60 million gallons of refined gasoline and 17 million gallons of diesel fuel.

“The need to focus on reducing energy consumption is clear,” Patterson continued. “And we need to find new, cheaper and cleaner sources of energy.”

The laboratories house a dynamic new center for synergistic research and development, bringing together in one facility leading engineers and scientists, all working to solve problems important to the energy and automotive fields.

With the opening of this facility, MSU joins an elite group of universities with these types of laboratories.

The new research complex features a powertrain lab and two engine test cells – one of which can accommodate a large SUV or small military vehicle. The complex also will have a cold room to test engine turnover in temperatures as low as -40 F.

“These facilities will allow for further development of hybrid technologies, the creation of more efficient combustion engines and the pursuit of biobased fuels,” Patterson said.

Engineers at MSU include experts in everything from ethanol to solar cells to biodiesel processing to hydrogen extraction. This diversity is key, because there is no single solution to the world’s growing energy dilemma.

“Activities within the new energy labs will complement research programs taking place elsewhere on campus, at other universities and within industry,” said Satish Udpa, dean of the College of Engineering. “This new facility will bring together some of the world’s top plant scientists, agricultural economists, chemists, forestry experts and engineers to develop innovative solutions.”

MSU was recently notified that it will receive more than $2 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to perform research that couples biofuels with efficient automotive engines. Much of this work will be conducted in the new facility.

“This first-class research facility will allow us to enhance our research partnerships and put us in a much better position to respond to the needs of the energy and automotive industries,” Udpa said.

“We’re creating an academic community focused on automotive research and fuels,” Patterson said. “It allows us to move forward, because it gives us the space and facilities to progress our strategy.”

This new facility, which more than doubles the previous space for energy and automotive research, represents an investment in infrastructure and research that will allow the College of Engineering to continue to draw the world’s best researchers.

The research center also increases learning opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students, enabling them to work in labs alongside faculty mentors, doing multidisciplinary research and getting real-world experience.

“This exposure prepares our graduates to play leading roles in meeting the future needs of the energy and automotive industries,” Udpa said.

In addition to the labs, the facility includes a control room, a fuel room and a research preparation room. It also houses faculty and graduate student offices along with a conference room for lectures, seminars and industry meetings.

Nearly half of the financial support for the Energy & Automotive Research Laboratories was provided by individual and corporate donors, including the Richard H. Brown Foundation, Consumers Energy Foundation, Ford Motor Co. Fund, General Motors Corp., Hallenbeck Construction Co. Inc., Roy H. and Dawn I. Link, James B. McKeon, and John D. and Dortha J. Withrow. The MSU Provost’s Office and the College of Engineering provided funding as well.

The new facility is located at Service Road and Bogue Street, adjacent to the existing Engineering Research Complex, just south of the Clinical Center and the Life Sciences Building on MSU’s campus.