James Madison University - Index

James Madison University - Madison Magazine - Summer 2009 - Index

ALTERNATIVE
FUELS
JMU’s research and programs are crosscurricular,
cooperative and clearly taking
the lead BY MARTHA BELL GRAHAM
T
Students from a
variety of disciplines
— biology,
chemistry, engineering,
geology,
physics and technology
— work side
by side on projects
in the Alternative
Fuel Program lab.
Think of all 250 million cars on American highways
right now. Next, think how to get every driver to stop, park
and mount a bike, get into a small electric car or take a bus.
You now have an idea of the task undertaken by professors
and students in the College of Integrated Science and Technology’s
Alternative Fuel Program. It’s a critical problem
with complex solutions — and tough hurdles to overcome.
Part of the university’s Center for Energy and Environmental
Sustainability, the Alternative Fuel Program is one
of many dynamic programs on campus working toward
sustainability. The AFP provides a framework of research
in the area of transportation, says director and ISAT professor
Chris Bachmann. The program merges applied
research with education and outreach, attacking the problem
three ways: fuels, technology and the elusive human
factor — perhaps the greatest challenge.
The program’s exploration of alternative fuels springs from
many academic disciplines: biology, chemistry, engineering,
geology, physics and technology. The cross-curricular and
cooperative nature of the program makes it dynamic and
fluid — and impossible to tell the story of one research project
without touching on multiple academic departments or
JMU divisions. Using surveys, simulation
modeling, statistical analysis,
along with hands-on research that
emphasizes student participation,
the program twines varied disciplines
with many campus, community and
government agencies — and students
in all levels of education.
The Alternative Fuel Program
began in 1997 when then-ISAT professor
Jamie Winebrake initiated the
assembly of JMU’s first fleet of alternative
fuel vehicles, which eventually included electric,
natural gas, biofuel and propane vehicles.
Since then, JMU students and professors have
worked together to explore the potential of
harvested macrocystic pyrifera (giant sea kelp)
and trichoderma reesei (a fungus) to produce
biofuels. They have evaluated the efficacy of
converting cooking oils left over from the dining
hall into biofuels and converting campus
vehicles to run on it. They have investigated
compressed natural gas as an alternative fuel
and fuel cell auxiliary power units. JMU now has two CNG refueling
stations on campus and a fleet of vehicles using alternative fuels.
They also have explored electric and wind energy. Students are
converting a truck donated by Shenandoah National Park, using a
Chris Bachmann,
integrated science
and technology professor,
directs the
JMU Alternative Fuel
Program, one of many
programs on campus
working toward sustainability.
In the lab,
professors help students
tackle transportation
issues through
education, research,
outreach and handson
learning.
$20,000 grant, to an electric vehicle the park service will use. It is
one of several electric vehicles successfully developed in the university’s
Alternative Vehicle Lab.
In fact, the Alternative Vehicle Lab is one of the most exciting
places at JMU. Located in a former machine shop, the space is shared
by facilities management, along with tools and people. Roger Monger,
a facilities management staff member, oversees the lab and provides
technical expertise to students constructing the designs they’ve
created. The contribution of the facilities management people can’t
be minimized, Bachmann says. “It’s been humongous.” Through
the work of Bachmann and Towana Moore, associate vice president
for business services, the entire lab was made available to students.
Here they take their ideas and build them. It is rare on college campuses
for so many students to have access to a complete and professional
machine shop, Bachmann adds. It’s even more uncommon
— indeed exceptional — to have the collaboration on lab space.
32 MADISON MAGAZINE
AFP PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY OF CISAT CREATIVE SERVICES