Three campus projects at Stony Brook University have been chosen as winners of SUNY 2014 Small Grant Sustainability Fund Awards, which aim to promote sustainability across SUNY by incentivizing cross-campus collaborations that cut energy costs and have a potential to be replicated elsewhere within the system. Each of the following projects will receive funding from the Research Foundation for SUNY:
Energy Harvesting Doormats
Portable energy harvesters that look like doormats will be placed in the entrances of heavy foot-traffic areas on campus, such as in front of elevators, escalators and stairs. The idea is to capture and harness energy from footsteps and convert it into usable power, which could then be used for electronic devices, such as smart phones, laptops, sensors, monitoring cameras, etc.
Speed Bump Energy Harvesters
This project will develop and demonstrate energy-harvesting speed bumps to generate electricity from passing vehicles. Existing speed bumps will be replaced by the new speed bumps, with the goal of harvesting hundreds of watts of electricity from passing cars. Electricity generated will be used to power roadside lights.
Nonlinear Rotary Translational Energy Harvester for Wind and Wave Power Generation
An energy generator called a “Nonlinear Rotary Translational Energy Harvester (NRTEH)” will be developed that converts rotary or translational mechanical motions into electrical energy. Large NRTEHs can be used by vessels to generate kilowatts of power from ocean waves, while small NRTEHs can be placed inside wind turbine blades to generate power from the rotation of the blades.
“The Small Grant Sustainability Fund gives SUNY an opportunity to support innovative concepts and designs by faculty and students across the state, while reducing the system’s carbon footprint,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “This program’s built-in incentive for projects that have the potential to be replicated elsewhere within SUNY is a driving force as we answer our strategic-planning goal of contributing to an Energy-Smart New York. Congratulations to all of the projects selected this year.”
A total of nine campus projects across the SUNY system were chosen to receive awards.
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