Researchers in the NDSU College of Engineering, in collaboration with the University of North Dakota, Kansas State University, Haskell Indian Nations University, Turtle Mountain Community College, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College and the Tribal Research Network Group, have been awarded a new $4 million federal grant to provide sustainable, reliable and efficient engineering infrastructures and solutions for tribal energy sovereignty.
Tribal communities often consist of rural, spread-out populations with distributed, smaller-scale power, heat and fuel energy systems, which are less reliable and may be less resilient to anticipated shifts in weather patterns and severity due to climate change. This innovative project will be developed in partnership with tribal nations in North Dakota and Kansas and its outcomes will be assessed from environmental, economic, and social perspectives for both the short- and long-term.
Research at NDSU will be led by Adam Gladen, associate professor of mechanical engineering while educational activities will be led by Jaclynn Davis Wallete, NDSU’s Director of Multicultural Programs.
“I’m excited to partner with the other research institutions and tribal colleges on this project. We’re looking forward to working with our partners to help develop new technologies to benefit tribal communities as well as broader communities in North Dakota,” said Gladen. “In particular, at NDSU, we will be developing new systems that combine solar electricity and solar-assisted heat pumps. Having this kind of electricity and heat generation in one system and on-site will help with the resiliency of local energy production particularly in rural regions like North Dakota.
Additionally, we’re looking forward to strengthening our support structure for tribal engineering students to help them succeed. We want to do what we can to enable and further student success and this grant will help us do that.”
The primary goal is to develop a suite of renewable energy and micro grid technologies, along with associated economic, sustainability, and social impact data for use by tribal nations to support their energy sovereignty.
Researchers plan to explore several potential solutions including:
- Widely scalable photovoltaic-thermal systems for both heat and power.
- Robust on-demand energy storage systems for power, heating, and cooling.
- The production of renewable fuels and power from waste materials and non-food agricultural resources in small scale, nearly self-sufficient processes.
- Power microgrid technologies with both on- and off-grid modes depending on demands and surpluses.
In addition to the research work, money from the grant will fund educational activities and expand the understanding of how to best support native students in STEM at traditional research universities with the creation of an INgineering program that will be developed in collaboration with three tribal colleges and implemented at all three participating research universities.
The goal is to increase the success of native students at mainstream research universities by adopting best practices to support native students.
“This is an exciting grant award not just for the new knowledge it could create, but because of the collaborations it’s already established,” said Alan Kallmeyer, interim dean of the College of Engineering. “Creating new pathways to recruit diverse students and giving them the support they need to succeed once they are on campus is a top priority for the college.”
“This project will also build on our current expertise in energy stewardship at NDSU, while helping tribal communities develop reliable and sustainable energy technologies that are economically feasible,” Kallmeyer added.
The project also includes workforce development for native STEM students and K-12 teacher professional development using project-based learning of culturally relevant engineering design.
The NSF EPSCoR RII Track-2 Program builds interjurisdictional collaborative teams of EPSCoR investigators in STEM fields. The “Sustainable Engineering Infrastructures and Solutions for Tribal Energy Sovereignty” project is funded through NSF Award #2316355.
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