IAC Student Research Awards

Implementation Grant Funding Opportunity Open

IMPORTANT: The grant program operates on a rolling basis and applications may be submitted at any time, with quarterly reviews.

Learn More

Implementation Grant Funding Opportunity Open

Qualifying* small and medium-sized US manufacturers, that received IAC or Combined Heat and Power Technical Assistance Partnership assessments between 2018 and 2024, can now apply for grants for implementation of assessment recommendations up 50% of qualifying* project costs with a maximum of $300,000 per manufacturer.

Learn More:

See Complete Announcement

Grant Program - Open Solicitation

IMPORTANT: The grant program now operates on a rolling basis and applications may be submitted at any time through the year, with quarterly reviews.

*See Full Grant Solicitation for full qualification and selection details.

2023 Student Research Awards

Arizona State University View Center Page

A Study on Compressed Air System Performance: Evaluating the Role of Master Controllers in Energy Efficiency and Cost Reduction

Students	Sumedh Shukla & Joseph Elliott
Director	Dr. Patrick Phelan
Staff Advisor(s)	Dr. Ryan Milcarek

University of Alabama View Center Page

Noninvasive Water Flow Measurement in Industrial Cooling Towers

Students	Ramon Peruchi, Pacheco da Silva, Riley Marchand & Stella Day
Director	Joseph Carpenter
Staff Advisor(s)	Dr. Forooza Samadi

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee View Center Page

Harnessing Organic Waste Streams for Efficient Hydrogen Production and Water Treatment

Students	Walaa Saadeh, Cheikh Kada & Mohammad Maache
Director	Ryo Amano

West Virginia University View Center Page

Energy Impact on Manufacturing Aggregate Planning for SME under Conditions of Dynamic Pricing of Utilities

Students	Roseline Mostafa
Director	Dr. Bhaskaran Gopalakrishnan

University of Illinois, Chicago View Center Page

Planning and Operation Co-Optimization of PV-battery System in Manufacturing Facilities

Students	Sharon (Jingwen) Wang & Lucia Valenzuela
Director	Lin Li

University of Dayton View Center Page

Development of a Machine-Learning Basis for Assessment of Compressed Air System Performance Conditions

Students	Sean Kapp
Director	Dr. Jun-Ki Choi

San Diego State University View Center Page

Application of the cold stream of a Ranque-Hilsch vortex flow for Nox reduction while using the hot air stream to enhance combustion efficiency

Students	Edgar Diaz
Director	Dr. Asfaw Beyene
Staff Advisor(s)	Dr. Joaquin Camacho

University of Utah View Center Page

Increasing the Accessibility of Industrial Electric Load Profile Data: Tools for Organization and Benchmarking

Students	Blake Billings, Lesslie Moposita & Sovit Bhetwal
Director	Dr. Kody Powell
Staff Advisor(s)	Dr. Julie Sieving

2022 Student Research Awards

Lehigh University View Center Page

Solar Powered Membrane Distillation for Desalination Applications.

Students	Abhinay Soanker and Justin Casper
Director	Dr. Alparslan Oztekin

Mississippi State View Center Page

Impact Analysis on Implementation of Electric and Thermal Energy Storage Systems at Industrial and Commercial Facilities.

Students	McKenna Patterson
Director	Joonsik Hwang
Staff Advisor(s)	Dr. Heejin Cho

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee View Center Page

Photovoltaic Cover for Treatment Tanks in Wastewater Treatment Plants.

Students	Ahmad Abdel Hadi and Omar Habash
Director	Ryo Amano

Tennessee Technological University View Center Page

Field Validation Study of an In-house Developed Cooling Tower Efficiency Model.

Students	Spencer Jones
Director	Dr. Ethan Languri, PE, CEM, CBEP

University of Dayton View Center Page

Decarbonization and Energy-Saving Potential of Pure Oxygen Aeration for Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Students	Scott Eardly
Director	Dr. Jun-Ki Choi

University of Nebraska–Lincoln View Center Page

Automated Fault Detection and Diagnostics (AFDD) for Packaged Rooftop Units Using Data-Driven Approach and Impact of Fault Elimination on Energy and Cost Savings.

Students	Md Rasel Uddin
Director	David Yuill

Michigan State University View Center Page

Developing a Virtual Assessment Process for More Efficient Student Training and Post-Assessment Analysis.

Students	Behlul Kula
Director	Kristen Cetin

University of California, Irvine View Center Page

Mixing Hydrogen with Natural Gas as an Alternative for Fuel Switching in Manufacturing for Decarbonization/Reducing GHG Emission.

Students	Meraf Amare, Jasmine Glover, and Jason Kim
Director	G.P. Li

2020 Student Research Awards

University of Massachusetts View Center Page

Design of Latent Thermal Energy Storage Heat Exchangers for Combined Heat and Power Plants

Students	Kedar Prashant
Director	Dr. Beka Kosanovic

University of Utah View Center Page

Improving the Economics of Industrial Battery Storage: A Proactive Policy and Management Approach.

Students	Anne Dougherty, Blake Billings and Nestor Camacho
Director	Dr. Kody Powell
Staff Advisor(s)	Dr. Julie Sieving

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee View Center Page

The Power Reclamation of Utilizing Micro-hydro Turbines in the Aeration Basins of Wastewater Treatment Plants.

Students	Alaa Hasan, Abdel Rahman Salem and Ahmad Abdel Hadi
Director	Ryo Amano

Texas A&M, College Station View Center Page

Peak Electrical Demand Reduction in Fluid Distribution Systems through Load-shifting using Model Predictive Control.

Students	Rafael J. Dugarte
Director	Bryan Rasmussen

University of Illinois, Chicago View Center Page

Framework for Net-Zero Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Students	Xochitl Menchaca
Director	Lin Li
Staff Advisor(s)	Dr. Patrick Brown

Boise State University View Center Page

Piyush Basnet and Anson Lunstrum

Students	Improving Pump Efficiency through Combination of Impeller Redesign and Hydrophobic Coating.
Director	Krishna Pakala
Staff Advisor(s)	Dr. Dev Shrestha and Dr. Steven Beyerlein

2019 Student Research Awards

University of Alabama View Center Page

Confined Tube Aeration – Increasing Efficiency of U.S. Wastewater Treatment

Students	Roohany Mahmud
Director	Joseph Carpenter
Staff Advisor(s)	Dr. David MacPhee

University of Utah View Center Page

Implementation of Machine-Learning-Based Optimization of Industrial Cooling Towers

Students	Landen Blackburn, Micale Ward, Derek Machalek, Christopher Hillam and Jake Tuttle
Director	Dr. Kody Powell
Staff Advisor(s)	Dr. Julie Sieving

San Diego State University View Center Page

Solar Energy / Energy Storage Discharge Models and Analysis of Regional Electricity Utility Usage Based on Interval Data in West IAC Region

Students	Andrew Benedict-Phillip and Daniela Cantor
Director	Dr. Asfaw Beyene
Staff Advisor(s)	Dr. Joaquin Camacho

2017 Student Research Awards

West Virginia University View Center Page

Energy Efficiency Evaluation of Twin Tower Regenerative Desiccant Dryers

Students	Alexandra Davis
Director	Dr. Bhaskaran Gopalakrishnan
Staff Advisor(s)	Dr. Ashish Nimbarte

2014 Student Research Awards

Texas A&M, College Station View Center Page

A Novel Method for Non-Intrusive Measurement of Compressed Air Leakage Flow Rates

Students	Patricio Ramirez, Matthew Krebs, David Saltzman, Brian Hinkel, Crystal Torres
Director	Bryan Rasmussen

Boise State University View Center Page

Impact of Hydrophobic Impeller Surface Coatings on Pump Efficiency

Students	Sean Rosin, Dennis Twitty, Michael Armstrong, and Vitor Da Silva Santos
Director	Krishna Pakala

University of Dayton View Center Page

Are Variable-Frequency Pumping Applications Delivering the Predicted Savings?

Students	Vijay Gopalakrishnan, Alex Brogan, Rohan Das
Director	Dr. Jun-Ki Choi
Staff Advisor(s)	Dr. Donald Chase

University of Michigan View Center Page

Substitution of Electricity with Natural Gas Burners for Industrial Dryers to Reduce cost and Pollutant

Students	Kumar Aanjaneya, Hayden Youngs, Danielle Kyser and Karl Stimmel
Director	Arvind Atreya

2013 Student Research Awards

Syracuse University View Center Page

Efficiently Reducing Thermal Stratification at Small and Medium-Scale Industrial Facilities

Students	Jillian Burgoyne, Enrica Galasso, Mark Seibel
Director	Dr. Jackie Anderson

University of Michigan View Center Page

Radiation Enhancement to Increase Efficiency and Reduce Pollutants

Students	Weiyu Cao, Nicholas Montes
Director	Arvind Atreya
Staff Advisor(s)	Pawel Olszewski

2012 Student Research Awards

Texas A&M, College Station View Center Page

Miscellaneous IAC Efficiency Projects

Students	Franco Morelli
Director	Bryan Rasmussen

San Diego State University View Center Page

Ultra-Low Grade Thermal Energy Recovery with Storage, Using Organic Rankine Cycle

Students	Michael Soda
Director	Dr. Asfaw Beyene

University of Alabama View Center Page

Compressed Air Systems Assessment: Effect of Inlet Air Temperatures

Students	Hamid Najafi
Director	Joseph Carpenter

University of Dayton View Center Page

Energy Efficient Humidity Control in Manufacturing

Students	Dustin Pohlman, Abdul Qayyum Mohammed
Director	Dr. Jun-Ki Choi

University of Michigan View Center Page

Possibility of Combustion Furnace Operation with Oxygen-Enriched Gas from Nitrogen Generator

Students	Dan Borgnakke
Director	Arvind Atreya