The availability of clean and cost-effective energy is of critical concern to Canada and the world. The theme of energy falls under the Queen’s Strategic Research Plan’s theme five (“Sustainability, environment, and resources”), and specifically the sub-theme “Alternative energy solutions and energy policy,” which has significant relevance within Smith Engineering at Queen's.
Theme 5: Energy/Fluid Systems
Much of the power research carried out in this area occurs within the Centre for Energy and Power Electronics Research (ePOWER). This centre is an integral part of a larger cluster of clean energy research within Queen’s, and is well equipped to provide leadership in emerging applications of power electronics in smart-grids, energy storage, and electric vehicles.
Research at ePOWER is complemented by the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering’s Solar Calorimetry Lab, where researchers develop high-performance alternative energy systems with a particular focus on solar energy.
Researchers in the Fluids Group of Mechanical and Materials Engineering design more effective turbines for wind and hydro power, and increase energy efficiency in the transportation sector by improving the aerodynamics of airplanes and fuel combustion in motors. Research is facilitated by the Optical Towing Tank for Energetics Research (OTTER Lab), a unique experimental facility for investigating unsteady flows in aerodynamics and hydrodynamics.