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UConn Joins Forces with University of New Haven to Help Local Manufacturers Adopt Sustainable Practices

UConn is participating in a massive national research effort to help local manufacturers reduce their carbon footprint.

Associate professor in the School of Engineering, Liang Zhang, will lead the team, in collaboration with the University of New Haven. This work is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

“We are excited to bring a DOE IAC to Connecticut for the first time in the history of the IAC program,” Zhang says. “This is long overdue for Connecticut, and we believe that it will bring significant benefits to the state’s environment and economic development efforts through its service to the large number of small and medium manufacturers in the area.”

The project’s $3.4 million budget is part of the $60 million effort dispersed across 32 universities in 28 states. This is the largest-ever cohort of university-based Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs). These centers are tasked with helping small and medium-sized manufacturers reduce their carbon emissions, lower energy costs, and train the next generation of energy-efficient workers.

The project’s $3.4 million budget is part of the $60 million effort dispersed across 32 universities in 28 states. This is the largest-ever cohort of university-based Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs). These centers are tasked with helping small and medium-sized manufacturers reduce their carbon emissions, lower energy costs, and train the next generation of energy-efficient workers.

“This is great news for Connecticut’s environment and economy,” U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said following the DOE announcement. “UConn’s work as one of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Assessment Centers will help local manufacturers cut emissions and energy costs while training the future generation of engineers, and I’m glad to see Connecticut as part of this major investment in clean energy.”

There are nine faculty from UConn and the University of New Haven on this project. Other UConn personnel are Amy Thompson, associate professor-in-residence of systems engineering and associate director for the UTC Institute for Advanced Systems Engineering; Ugur Pasaogullari, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Center for Clean Energy Engineering; Baikun Li, professor of environmental engineering; and Haitham Ghalwash, assistant professor-in-residence of computer science and Engineering.

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