Marcelo Laprea-Bigott, Ph.D., Associate Director, Supply, served as moderator for a session on technology & collaboration at the Heavy Oil Latin America Congress (HOLA) in Bogota, Columbia on August 3, 2011. The theme of this year's Congress, A Blueprint for Latin America's Growing Heavy Oil Industry, emphasized the importance and process of examining the entire value chain from the perspective of growing the Latin American industry while balancing environmental, social and economic needs.
 

HOLA 2011 was organized by the Colombian Chamber of Petroleum Services (CAMPETROL), the producers of the World Heavy Oil Congress
and the Colombian Chapter of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).

Robert S. Balog, Jr., Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was selected as the recipient of the 2011 Rutgers School of Engineering, Distinguished Engineer Award, which is bestowed by the Rutgers Engineering Society.  Dr. Balog received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree from Rutgers University.

The field of past award recipients is marked by those who are pioneers in their respective disciplines. The selection committee noted Dr. Balog's pioneering work in developing efficient and effective electrical energy conversion methods for use in the emerging field of renewable energy.

http://rutgersengineeringsociety.rutgers.edu/node/64

Several members of the Department of Mechanical Engineering (MEEN) faculty were recently awarded three grants for energy storage for renewable energy applications, improved drilling efficiency and portable power for measurement and logging during drilling operations. Alan Palazzolo (professor) and Randall Tucker (lecturer) were awarded a Phase I - Department of Energy Small Business Technology Transfer (DOE-STTR) with California flywheel company Vycon to develop a high energy density flywheel for renewable energy and smart grid applications. The unique flywheel design has received a provisional patent through the Texas A&M University Office of Technology Commercialization. Flywheels provide energy storage with fewer disposal, temperature and life issues that are associated with electrochemical batteries.
 

Palazzolo, Tucker, Joe Kim (assistant professor) and Mansour Karkoub (professor, Texas A&M University - Qatar (TAMUQ)) were also awarded a three-year Round 4, Qatar National Research Fund National Priorities Research Program (QNRP-NPRP) grant to develop a means to increase drilling efficiency and reduce related emissions, via experimental characterization, modeling and measurement of drilling related dynamic forces and vibration. Vibration induced bit wear and drillstring fatigue failures greatly increase the time, fuel consumption and emissions while drilling.

In addition, Palazzolo, Shehab Ahmed (assistant professor, TAMUQ - Electrical Engineering), and Ahmed Massoud (TAMUQ) received funding for a three-year Round 3, QNRF-NPRP grant to develop an energy storage flywheel replacement for lithium Ion batteries, for application to measurement and logging while drilling applications. This high temperature environment reduces the performance of lithium ion batteries due to self-discharge.

CORPUS CHRISTI - Just as corn and peanuts stunned the world decades ago with their then-newly discovered multi-beneficial uses and applications, Texas AgriLife Research scientists in Corpus Christi think microalgae holds even more promise.

"It's a huge, untapped source of fuel, food, feed, pharmaceuticals and even pollution-busters," said Dr. Carlos Fernandez, a crop physiologist at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Corpus Christi who is studying the physiological responses of microalgae to the environment.

There are an estimated 200,000 to 800,000 species of microalgae, microscopic algae that thrive in freshwater and marine systems, Fernandez said.

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