Energy News

  • Assoc. Prof. Trelles and grad student in the lab

    Researchers Develop Way to Produce Hydrogen from Plastic Waste

    A team of university and U.S. Army researchers, led by UML Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Assoc. Prof. Assoc. Prof. Juan Pablo Trelles, has developed a way to extract hydrogen from plastic waste that can be used as clean fuel.
    Featured Story
  • Offshore wind turbines

    Using Sound Waves to Monitor Offshore Wind Turbine Blades

    Mechanical Engineering Assoc. Prof. Murat Inalpolat and his team are developing and implementing a continuous, sound-based sensor system for monitoring the structural health and integrity of offshore wind turbine blades.
    Featured Story
  • Ross lab gold and tin

    Chemistry Lab Group Makes Scientific Discovery

    Chemistry Asst. Prof. Michael Ross’ lab group found that nanoparticles combining post-transition and noble metals absorb higher energies of light. Their discovery is highlighted in Matter, a scientific journal published by Cell Press.
    Featured Story
  • UMass Lowell Research Prof. of Economics David Turcotte

    Expert: Gas Stoves are a Health Concern, Evidence Shows

    While the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission this week walked back a report saying the agency would seek to ban household gas stoves due to health concerns over emissions, a UMass Lowell expert on the issue maintained “adequate evidence” of ill-health effects exists to take action.
    Press Release
  • Meg with student in the lab

    Engineering Professors’ Research on Plastics Recycling and Sustainability Gets $1M

    Prof. Meg Sobkowicz-Kline and Asst. Teaching Prof. Akshay Kokil were awarded funding totaling $1 million by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology for projects that aim to reduce the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills and the environment each year.
    Featured Story
  • smart thermostat

    Researchers Win NSF Grant to Boost Energy Efficiency

    UMass Lowell researchers have teamed up with local organizations in search of effective strategies that will encourage underserved communities to participate in energy efficiency programs.
    Featured Story
  • Two men stand next to research equipment and a radiation area caution sign

    Radiation Safety Program Earns Brand-New International Accolade

    UMass Lowell has been recognized with the first Outstanding Radiation Safety Program award by the Health Physics Society, an international nonprofit organization of more than 5,000 scientists, physicians, engineers and other professionals.
    Featured Story
  • A man speaks to a crowd while holding a certificate in a wood-paneled room with an American flag

    S.E.E.D. Fund Recipients All About the Green

    Seven projects led by students, faculty and staff received a share of the university’s annual $50,000 Sustainability Encouragement & Enrichment Development (S.E.E.D.) Fund. 
    Featured Story
  • Asst. Prof. Yuzhang Lin

    Electrical Engineering Professor Wins $500K NSF CAREER Award

    Asst. Prof. Yuzhang Lin was recently awarded a five-year, $500,000 faculty early-career development grant by the National Science Foundation to conduct a study that will help better predict and visualize power distribution capacity and consumers’ power demand in real time.
    Featured Story
  • Shawsheen Valley Technical High School students

    High School Students Learn about Cybersecurity Field

    Sixty-five students from Greater Lowell and Shawsheen Valley technical high schools and their teachers got an overview of UML’s computer science and cybersecurity programs and some hands-on experience at the university’s Cyber Range during a recent visit to campus.
    Featured Story
  • Three students hold award certificates while talking to two faculty members on a staircase

    Lights Out! Students’ Energy-Saving Idea Wins CO2 Challenge

    A competition-based initiative to get students thinking about their residence hall energy usage won the third annual Rist Institute for Sustainability & Energy Climate Mitigation Challenge, which asks students to find ways to reduce CO2 emissions by 10,000 pounds in 10 weeks.
    Featured Story
  • Two women hold an award plaque while posing for a photo with five men

    UML Earns ‘Leading by Example’ Award for Decarbonization Efforts

    UMass Lowell received a Leading by Example award from the state’s Department of Energy Resources for its collaborative efforts with fellow honorees UMass Amherst, UMass Dartmouth and Salem State University to decarbonize their campuses.
    Featured Story
  • Asst. Prof. Stephen T. Lam

    UML-led Research on Molten Salt for Energy Generation Wins DOE Funding

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded a team of researchers from UMass Lowell and Oak Ridge National Laboratory a $400,000 grant to develop machine learning-based approaches for simulating molten salts used in advanced nuclear reactor systems.
    Featured Story
  • Headshots of a woman professor, a woman student and a male student

    RISE Fellowships Support Innovations in Energy, Sustainability

    The Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy has awarded 2021-22 fellowships to Assoc. Prof. of Electrical and Computer Engineering Cordula Schmid, Analytical Chemistry Ph.D. candidate Elizabeth Farrell and chemical engineering major Andrew Parker.
    Featured Story
  • An aerial view of the Merrimack River running through the UML campus

    With NSF Award, New Grad Program Focuses on Protecting Water Resources

    An interdisciplinary team of UML faculty, led by Assoc. Profs. Meg Sobkowicz-Kline and Chris Hansen, have received a nearly $3 million National Science Foundation Research Traineeship award for a new graduate student program focused on developing sustainable materials and chemicals that won’t harm water resources.
    Featured Story
  • A shape sails past wind turbines in the ocean

    UMass Lowell Wins Grant to Diversify Offshore Wind Workforce

    UMass Lowell, in partnership with the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston, has received a $241,300 grant from the Commonwealth to develop academic pathways that increase the participation of underrepresented populations in the offshore wind industry.
    Featured Story
  • A infrared image of the Southwick Hall roof taken by the drone

    Infrared Drone Takes Campus Energy Audits to Another Level

    Researchers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering used a drone equipped with an infrared camera to help Facilities Management identify energy inefficiencies in campus buildings and heating systems.
    Featured Story
  • UMass Lowell Research Prof. of Economics David Turcotte

    Environmental Health Expert Works to Improve Homes, Workplaces

    David Turcotte is an authority on sustainability and environmental justice who is leading efforts to improve the quality of life for people in their homes and workplaces. A member of UMass Lowell’s Climate Change Initiative, Turcotte can discuss how the phenomenon impacts the incidence of asthma and hazardous-materials cleanup responses as a result of extreme weather events.
    Press Release
  • The UML men's soccer team plays a game on North Campus

    America East Schools Team Up to Champion Sustainability

    With the collaboration between UMass Lowell’s Office of Sustainability and its Athletic Department serving as a model, the America East Conference has created a sustainability network that gives its 10 member institutions an opportunity to share best practices and advance green initiatives.
    Featured Story
  • Asst. Prof. of Economics Kelly Hellman, plastics engineering major Kerry Candlen and chemical engineering major Maria Fonseca-Guzman

    Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy Awards First Fellowships

    The Rist Institute for Sustainability and Energy has awarded its inaugural fellowships to Asst. Prof. of Economics Kelly Hellman, plastics engineering major Kerry Candlen and chemical engineering major Maria Fonseca-Guzman.
    Featured Story
  • University officials pose for a photo at the Leading by Example award ceremony at the State House

    State Grant Powers Renewable Energy Master Plan

    UMass Lowell has received a $100,000 grant from the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources to develop a campus-wide renewable energy master plan that will help advance the university’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
    Featured Story
  • UML physics major Anne Souza teaches an online lab to science teachers in Haiti

    New Honors Class Inspires Renewable Energy Research

    A new honors seminar that helps students think critically about different sources of energy is inspiring research involving renewables, including projects at UMass Lowell’s Haiti Development Studies Center.
    Featured Story
  • An aerial view of the UML campus and Merrimack River

    Very Cool! UML 16th on Sierra’s List of Eco-friendly Schools

    UMass Lowell is No. 16 on Sierra magazine’s “Cool Schools” list for 2020, the university’s highest ranking ever in a survey that assesses colleges’ performances on everything from sustainability-focused courses, carbon-neutral energy and land policies, eco-friendly dining halls and student engagement.
    Featured Story
  • Students inspect a solar panel on a parking kiosk on Jackson Street

    UML’s Solar Energy Association Provides Bright Spot for City

    Graduate students from the Francis College of Engineering’s Solar Energy Association are helping the community by inspecting the city of Lowell’s solar-powered parking meter kiosks as part of an extracurricular service-learning project.
    Featured Story
  •  A view of downtown Lowell on Tuesday, May 8 2018.

    UMass Lowell Commits to Spreading Green Initiatives

    This month the City of Lowell and the university announced the Green Community Partnership — an alliance committed to driving down the carbon footprint of the Mill City.
    Boston Herald In The News
  • Student panelist Zachary Traverso speaks during the conference

    Renewable Energy is Great, but How Do We Store It?

    Faculty and student researchers examined what the state must do to incorporate renewable energy sources into the electrical grid to reduce carbon emissions in “The State of Grid Energy Storage in Massachusetts,” a report commissioned by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts.
    Featured Story
  • UMass Lowell Research Prof. of Economics David Turcotte

    $1M Grant Goes to Asthma Prevention Research

    A UMass Lowell researcher who works to alleviate asthma in senior citizens has received $1 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to advance his work.
    Press Release
  • Offshore wind turbine blades

    Event Explores Future of Energy Storage

    Leaders from business, education, government and research will gather next week to discuss the state of energy storage in Massachusetts.
    Press Release
  • Asst. Prof. Hsi-Wu Wong working in the lab

    Chemical Engineering Professor Recognized with NSF CAREER Award

    The National Science Foundation recently recognized Asst. Prof. Hsi-Wu Wong of the Department of Chemical Engineering with a prestigious faculty early career development grant, called the “CAREER” award. This highly competitive annual program selects the nation’s best young university faculty-scholars “who most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organization.”
    Featured Story
  • 2019 INI Fellows

    Summer Program Trains Young Professionals for the Nuclear Industry

    Reactor system fundamentals and technology and advanced reactor designs were just some of the topics discussed at this year’s Intercontinental Nuclear Institute (INI), an annual summer fellowship program organized by UMass Lowell and the Czech Technical University in Prague.
    Featured Story
  • Pig farm manure

    Researchers Produce Renewable Engine Fuel from Wet Biowaste

    A team of researchers from UMass Lowell, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and China Agricultural University in Beijing has developed a new, sustainable way of converting wet biological waste into diesel-compatible fuel, using heat and water.
    Featured Story
  • CCI members pose with state legislators

    Faculty Experts Brief Legislators on Climate Change

    The university’s Climate Change Initiative hosted members of the state’s House Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change for a roundtable discussion on climate science and policy at which faculty members shared scientific research and expertise to help inform policy decisions.
    Featured Story
  • MLSC's Travis McCready with Jacquie Moloney and Joseph Hartman at the ceremony

    Modernized Perry Hall Opens New Era of Research, Learning

    The university celebrated a $50 million renovation of Perry Hall, which is home to academics, research and industry partnerships in fields including biomedical, chemical and environmental engineering, as well as biomanufacturing and clean energy.
    Featured Story
  • Administrators and guests look at the new Green Roof garden

    UML Celebrates Energy Savings, Sustainability on Earth Day

    The university marked two major milestones at its Earth Day celebration: the completion of its $23.1 million Accelerated Energy Program and its latest STARS Gold rating, which moves UML into the top 10 nationally.
    Featured Story
  • Cybersecurity illustration

    UMass Lowell Expands Cybersecurity Training

    UMass Lowell – a leader in information technology, security and criminal justice education and research – is introducing a new online program for information technology professionals who want to update their skills on the latest standards in cybersecurity on their own or for employers who want to ensure their workforce and operations are fully prepared to counter any threats.
    Press Release
  • Profs. Mack and Wong

    Researchers: Sawdust is Next Wave in Renewable Energy

    The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a three-year, $1 million grant to a team of researchers led by a UMass Lowell mechanical engineering professor that is working to develop renewable fuel additives from sawdust and other wood byproducts.
    Press Release
  • Ph.D. student Kelechi Adejumo explains the dangers of secondhand smoke to a family in the Healthy Homes project

    Turcotte’s Asthma Research Helps Children and Seniors in Lowell

    For almost two decades, Research Prof. David Turcotte’s “Healthy Homes” project has improved the lives of low-income children and seniors with asthma. His focus on environmental justice also includes research on wind turbines, community health and healthy workplaces.
    Featured Story
  • Faculty members check out the symposium program

    Research, Collaboration Shine at Faculty Symposium

    Faculty members from across the university shared their research and were recognized for their achievements at the 2018 Faculty Symposium, held at the UMass Lowell Inn & Conference Center.
    Featured Story
  • UMass Lowell Associate Dean of Engineering Kavitha Chandra runs the RAMP camp for incoming women engineering students -- Adriyanna Albert is in the foreground

    On-RAMP Summer Camp Supports Women Engineering Students

    The new RAMP summer camp for incoming women engineering students aims to build their skills and connect them with future mentors so they stay the course. The first-year students say it’s boosting their confidence – and helping them make friends.
    Featured Story
  • Piles of rubble and trash are everywhere in Haiti, which has little sanitation infrastructure

    Civil Engineering Students Use Know-how to Help in Haiti

    A dozen civil and environmental engineering majors created their own senior capstone class to take on the challenge of designing home sanitation systems for a community in Haiti. The students traveled to Haiti to learn more about the people and local conditions.
    Featured Story
  • Orhan Kallogjeri inspects a refrigerator while Tu Anh Huynh looks on

    Engineering Students All About (Energy) Efficiency

    Mechanical engineer students, led by senior lecturer Michele Putko, are helping improve energy efficiency at the Lowell Transitional Living Center through an independent study project funded by a mini-grant from the university’s Sustainability Encouragement & Enrichment Development (S.E.E.D.) Fund.
    Featured Story
  • Offshore wind turbine blades

    Avangrid, UMass Lowell to Collaborate on Clean Energy

    A new research partnership between Avangrid, its subsidiary Central Maine Power and UMass Lowell will bring together researchers from the company and the university to advance the development and implementation of clean energy technologies - including hydropower, wind energy, power grids, energy storage and data sciences - over the next decade. UMass Lowell students will also benefit from the partnership, which calls for them to participate in on-campus research and for CMP to explore opportunities for co-ops, internships and fellowships. 
    Press Release
  • North Korean ICBM

    Nuclear Security Expert Assesses World Threats in 2018

    Assoc. Prof. Sukesh Aghara, director of UMass Lowell’s Nuclear Engineering Program, shares his perspective on what we can expect to see in the geopolitical landscape in the coming year.
    Featured Story
  • Chemistry student Rashmi Sharma

    Student Researchers Win Tech Hackathons at MIT

    Two UMass Lowell graduate students were part of the teams that recently won top prizes at two “hackathons” organized by MIT, the U.S. Department of Defense MD5 program and the Naval Postgraduate School.
    Featured Story
  • Mill City Grows staff spread compost inside the greenhouse

    Urban Agriculture Greenhouse Sprouts on East Campus

    The university’s new Urban Agriculture Greenhouse, run in partnership with Mill City Grows, will be a testing ground for water and energy efficiency — while also providing food for the local community.
    Featured Story
  • Kids raising their hands in classroom

    Clean Energy Day: Engineering The Next Generation

    UMass Lowell professor of energy David Willis gave a presentation on wind power and its benefits, demonstrating specific processes that create clean energy, such as wind rotation, at “Clean Energy Activity Day" at the Manthala George Jr. Elementary School in Brockton.
    North American Windpower In The News
  • Juliette Rooney-Varga presents at the State House

    University’s Climate Change Experts Brief Lawmakers

    Assoc. Prof. Juliette Rooney-Varga and members of the university’s Climate Change Initiative led a legislative briefing at the State House on “Meeting the Climate and Energy Challenge,” introducing their interactive simulation to policymakers.
    Featured Story
  • Renewable-energy entrepreneur Harish Hande speaks with students during his visit to UMass Lowell.

    At UML, Lessons from a Solar Revolutionary

    Renewable-energy entrepreneur Harish Hande, 2011 winner of Asia s Nobel Peace Prize, the Magsaysay Award, spoke with students during his visit to UMass Lowell, his alma mater, on Friday.
    Lowell Sun In The News
  • UML police officers affix a license plate to their new electric vehicle

    University Police Adds Electric Vehicle to Fleet

    The UMass Lowell Police Department has added a Nissan LEAF electric vehicle to its fleet through the Massachusetts Electric Vehicle Incentive Program.
    Department News
  • Lorenzo Chiodi demonstrates extrusion to a group of rapt fifth-graders.

    Engineering Students Talk Science with Lowell Schoolchildren

    Mechanical engineering students visited Lowell middle schools and after-school programs to get kids excited about science. It was a service-learning project that was part of a required course, Materials Science for Engineers.
    Featured Story
  • Chancellor Jacquie Moloney shakes hands with DOER Commissioner Judith Judson

    University Achieves Gold Standard for Sustainability

    The university earns gold rating from Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, becoming one of three institutions in the state to reach that level.
    Featured Story
  • The view of the solar array from the top floor of the parking garage.

    Rays the Roof: New Panels Nearly Double Solar Production

    New solar panels on the South Campus parking garage will nearly double the university’s solar power production and slash its annual electric bill by $31,000, just one of several energy-saving projects completed this summer.
    Featured Story
  • Asst. Prof. Trelles and his student in the lab

    Researchers Use Solar Energy For Sustainable Fuels

    Mechanical Engineering Asst. Prof. Juan Pablo Trelles is developing a new process to convert waste carbon dioxide from power plants and factories into sustainable fuels and high-value chemicals.
    Featured Story
  • Students work with the solar simulator in the lab

    Researchers Harness the Power of the Sun

    Asst. Prof. Juan Pablo Trelles and his team are synthesizing sustainable fuels using solar energy and carbon dioxide as well as water or methane from natural gas.