At Case Western Reserve, energy transcends Science and Engineering with a focus on interdisciplinary research and programs. Collaborations include the Weatherhead School of Management, Schools of Law and Medicine, as well as the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. Leveraging fundamental strengths – from advanced materials and electrochemistry to controls and finance – Case Western Reserve’s energy research unites disciplines.
The University’s energy research includes a breadth of critical topics with energy implications, from materials lifetime and performance to generation and transmission, distribution, control, sale, and use of energy as well as the energy-water nexus. Recognizing the importance of this interplay, Case Western Reserve's energy research groups into seven themes:
- Advanced and Critical Materials
- Advanced Manufacturing
- Data Governance and Stewardship for Materials and Energy
- Electrochemistry and Energy Storage
- Future Power, Generation and Grid Reliability
- Water
- Geospatial Modeling
CWRU is achieving success in energy. Since 2008, the University’s energy activity has produced:
- 4x increase in energy research
- 5 new funded energy centers, serving wind, solar, storage, and grid research
- 6 ARPA-E awards
- Millions from NSF, DOE, the State of Ohio, corporations, and foundations
- 100 faculty members engaged, up from just dozens
- More than 100 industry partners and national labs co-proposing and partnering
GLEI supports faculty in energy through functions not normally available:
- Pursue and capture funding specifically for energy research
- Identify and disseminate trends in energy, to understand changes and improve success
- Propose for larger awards with bigger and more interdisciplinary teams
- Drive more University research to application orientation, matching a national move
- Join industry partners into winning concepts
Students also play a fundamental role in CWRU’s energy research. While on campus, they engage in world-class research at every possibility. Upon graduation, they take with them intensive and hands-on experiences with new energy technology. Throughout, they often bring the business and entrepreneurial passion to take innovations to market.