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Mechanical Engineering Students Receive the EPA P3 Award from
William A. Wulf (left), President of the National Academy of
Engineering, and Timothy E. Oppelt (right), Acting Assistant
Administrator of the Office of Research and Development at EPA.
Students from left to right: Konstantinos Bourkouris, John Pariseau,
Brad Lamiman, Antonio Vittorini, Andres Clarens, Prashanth Pandian. |
When a half-dozen students from ME 589, EcoDesign and Manufacturing, and ME 450, the capstone design and manufacturing course, headed to an awards ceremony held at the National Academy of Sciences in May, little did they suspect that they would take home the P3 Award, given by the Environmental Protection Agency to the winner of its sustainable design competition. The term 'P3' represents the three components of sustainability: people, prosperity and the planet.
The U-M team won for its AWARE@home system, a user-friendly and inexpensive tool for households to monitor their consumption of electricity, water, and natural gas wirelessly via their home computer.
The United States represents less than 5% of the world’s population and consumes about 25% of its energy, with 20% of this consumption being at home. With rising energy and water costs, this consumption is also becoming more expensive. The team's objective for the AWARE@home system is to make consumers aware of their household energy and water usage in an almost effortless way, in the hope that this will encourage homeowners to modify their behavior, conserving resources while also saving money.
After installing software on a home computer, consumers enter the maximum amount they're willing to spend each month on utilities. When it becomes apparent to the AWARE@home system that this amount will likely be exceeded, the system triggers a pop-up window or an email notice on the homeowner’s computer. Consumers can then make changes, including for example, using less water while washing dishes or turning their heat down a few degrees.
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The system works using standard wireless “WiFi” networks. If a home does not have a WiFi network already in place, an inexpensive USB antenna/transmitter is included with the system that is plugged in to the home computer. AWARE@home is also compatible with new digital utility meters that are being sent to the field to eliminate the need for in-person readings. Once marketed, the system will likely be of interest to property managers and consumers wanting to control their monthly expenses.
In addition to students from the two Mechanical Engineering courses, other participants included students from Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and the Ross School of Business.
Sixty five teams from around the country competed for $10,000 grants to research and develop their projects during the 2004/2005 academic year. On May 16, 2005, all P3 grant recipients set up a display featuring their project on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The National Academies convened a panel of judges--unidentified to participants and who mingled among the crowds asking questions of each group--to evaluate the projects and recommend the award winners to the EPA, which made the final decision.
The P3 Award was presented that evening by E. Timothy Oppelt, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Research and Development, and William A. Wulf, president of the National Academy of Engineering. As for the students' reactions upon receiving the award, "It was a blur, a shock," said Assistant Professor Steven Skerlos, the faculty advisor to the project. "They went there with lots of pride and confidence, and they knew it was a great project, but they didn't go in expecting to win."
AWARE@home has been covered widely in the media and is currently being prepared for testing in real homes. Some students will be staying on to work towards bringing the project closer to becoming a market reality. Regarding this possibility, Skerlos said "AWARE@home has a real chance. The software is easy and attractive; the hardware is robust. The system is ready to go to the next level.”