Renewable energy is a booming industry, and renewable sources like solar, wind and hydropower have surpassed more traditional sources of energy in growth over the last few years. With renewable energy accounting for almost two-third of net new power capacity worldwide in 2016, the need for engineers trained in renewables is growing. Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech) is leading the charge with a Renewable Energy Engineering (REE) program that offers both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree track.
Oregon Tech’s REE bachelor’s degree is the first of its kind in North America, producing highly skilled professionals who develop, promote, and implement sustainable energy technologies. Graduates of this program are ideally positioned for engineering jobs with a major emphasis in power generation, power and energy systems design or applications and energy conversion technologies.
The Murdock Trust helped launch the REE bachelor’s degree program in 2012 with a grant supporting the purchase of a Heliocentris New Energy Lab. This equipment combines renewable energy generation from solar, wind and fuel cell power with modern energy storage technology to create an autonomous hybrid system. The system creates a living laboratory that offers students hand-on learning with renewable energy systems.
The Murdock Trust is proud to support the next generation of engineering students by partnering with Oregon Tech, which looks to the future and prepares students by offering practical and hands-on education that allows them to work toward real-world solutions.
