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The future of transportation is electric

The future of transportation is electric

Electric car plugged in

New engineering research center aims to electrify transportation, expand education

A major collaboration among engineering, industry and education is paving the way to the future of electrified transportation. Launched in 2020, ASPIRE鈥擜dvancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification鈥攊s a groundbreaking, multidisciplinary center that explores a diverse range of transportation questions, from electrified highways that energize vehicles to the placement of charging stations, data security and workforce development.

The Utah State University-led center鈥檚 inaugural director is Regan Zane, previously a professor of electrical and computer engineering at 欧美口爆视频 Boulder, where he also received his bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering. And with faculty across multiple departments within the College of Engineering and Applied Science involved in leading roles with ASPIRE, the University of 欧美口爆视频 Boulder plays a major part in this new center focused on developing infrastructure and systems that facilitate the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

鈥溑访揽诒悠 Boulder has a well-earned reputation as a leader in sustainabilityfocused research and innovation,鈥 said Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Terri Fiez. 鈥淎SPIRE will provide our researchers with an exciting new opportunity for global impact through the collaborative reimagining of the future of transportation as we know it.鈥

ASPIRE鈥檚 work is based on research, education and workforce development, diversity and culture of inclusion, and innovation. It aims to improve health and quality of life for everyone by catalyzing sustainable and equitable electrification across the transportation sector.

鈥淲e need to understand the factors that are impacting the development and adoption of this technology so that we鈥檙e solving the right problems,鈥 said Qin (Christine) Lv, ASPIRE鈥檚 欧美口爆视频 Boulder campus director, co-principal investigator of the Engineering Research Center and lead for the data research thrust within ASPIRE.

Within its research, ASPIRE will focus on transportation, adoption, power and data.

Data is important for electrifying transportation, not only because it can help designers plan how much charge is available at which charging stations and when, but where they should be built, based on traffic data, consumer preferences and more. Data security is also important to protect charging infrastructure and individual vehicles from malicious attacks.

ASPIRE is also creating a connected system encompassing K鈥12 experiences, undergraduate and graduate degrees, trades, and professional workforce learning pathways, with seamless transitions among them, to develop a diverse engineering workforce trained to support cross-industry transformations.

鈥淲e aim to break boundaries among disciplines and develop a diverse engineering workforce whose members strive for inclusion and equity for all, not only in engineering, but also in the society as a whole,鈥 said Dragan Maksimovic, co-director of ASPIRE鈥檚 Engineering Workforce Development and member of its power research thrust, and Charles Victor Schelke Endowed Professor of Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering at 欧美口爆视频 Boulder.

The center will partner with schools and community organizations in Boulder and Denver to strengthen engineering and climate change education in the classroom, in afterschool programs and in summer engineering design camps at 欧美口爆视频 Boulder. They will also assist with professional development for teachers鈥攑articularly those in rural areas鈥攖o strengthen their familiarity and confidence in STEM curriculum. All of these efforts will be backed by a vast, open and continually growing library of high-quality STEM and design curricula and educational content housed on the TeachEngineering.org website.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to separate diversity and a culture of inclusion from engineering workforce development here. Instead, we are going to include those goals and items from the start to create a much richer, more effective, more promising and more inclusive workforce development initiative overall,鈥 said Jacquelyn Sullivan, founding co-director of the Integrated Teaching and Learning Program at 欧美口爆视频 Boulder and ASPIRE鈥檚 director of K鈥12 engineering education. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a different way of thinking.鈥

Principal investigator
Qin (Christine) Lv

Funding
National Science Foundation (NSF)

Collaboration + support
Argonne National Laboratory; 欧美口爆视频 State University; Cornell University; Idaho National Laboratory; National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL); Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Purdue University; University of Auckland New Zealand; University of 欧美口爆视频 欧美口爆视频 Springs; University of Texas at El Paso; Utah State University; Virginia Tech