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A team of mechanical engineering students and the Renewable Energy and Engines Lab at Georgia Southern University have both recently gained national attention from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Science Foundation.

The EPA recognized the student team for their participation in the ninth annual EPA National P3 (People, Prosperity and the Planet) student design competition for sustainability for their efforts to improve the design of low temperature combustion diesel engines.

In late April, the team of engineering students was invited to present its P3 project on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where Georgia Southern beat more than 100 other universities across the nation, including top-tier research institutions, to tie Johns Hopkins University for first place.

“To be recognized at this level is rewarding for us,” said Valentin Soloiu, Ph.D., professor of mechanical engineering and the Chair of Renewable Energy for the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Information Technology. “We are very pleased to be on the national stage. Our students did a great job in explaining the novel technologies and defending them to the judges.”

The Georgia Southern P3 project, “Low Temperature Combustion with Reduced PM and NOx Emissions, Achieved by n-Butanol in-Port Injected in an Omnivorous Diesel Engine” won the American Institute of Chemical Engineers/Youth Council on Sustainable Science and Technology award.

A $15,000 grant from the EPA won in the first stage of the competition was used to further develop their automotive technology prototype. Their engine runs on n-Butanol and cottonseed oil, which are biofuels produced from sustainable sources.

The students developed technologies to reduce exhaust produced by diesel engines by using biofuel and alcohol to power the engine. This creates lower emissions, therefore reducing pollution. The combination could also lower dependence on foreign oil and potentially create jobs for farmers being able to use biofuels produced from the waste of cottonseed, peanuts and poultry fat processes.

The National Science Foundation awarded a $360,000 Research for Undergraduates (REU) grant to the Renewable Energy and Engines Lab to establish a program called “Undergraduate Research in Green-Engineered New Transportation Technologies” (URGENTT) for students across the country to explore solutions to energy problems. Beginning next summer, the 10-week program will bring 10 students from across the country to explore solutions to energy problems. The program will be available for three years, and Soloiu said the program will collaborate with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) to recruit students.

“This puts us in an extraordinary position to reach out to undergraduate engineering students nationally and help boost their interest in research with hands-on learning,” Soloiu said. “The program I have designed will allow students to perform research on our campus, and they will work on formulating new biofuels, hybrid combustion technologies, renewable energy, automotive engineering and many other areas.”

URGENTT aims to increase students’ interest in conducting research, expand basic understanding of interdisciplinary concepts through hands-on-learning, enhance Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) problem-solving skills and develop an ability to apply those topics to a research problem.

Eight faculty members from the University also will support the summer program including the Allen E. Paulson College of Engineering and Information Technology, the College of Science and Mathematics and the Center for Teaching, Learning and Scholarship. The English department also will help students learn to write reports and communicate effectively during presentations.

“We want to do everything we can to prepare the next generation of scientific leaders,” Soloiu said. “I expect this grant will continue to elevate us to a national level and generate a lot of interest in what we have to offer at Georgia Southern. Maybe these undergraduates who spend their summers with us will return to our campus and pursue master’s degrees.” To learn more about the Renewable Energy and Engines Lab, visit http://ceit.georgiasouthern.edu/engine/.