College of Engineering

Tennessee Tech has been awarded more than $4 million by the U.S. Department of Energy for its proposal to build the clean energy economy in rural areas.

The project title is “Rural Reimagined: Building an EV Ecosystem and Green Economy for Transforming Lives in Economically Distressed Appalachia.”  Rural Reimagined is Tennessee Tech’s Grand Challenge initiative to harness science, technology and innovation to transform rural communities.

“Today is a great day,” said Pingen Chen, assistant professor for mechanical engineering at Tennessee Tech and the lead investigator for the project.  “With the rise of the clean energy economy around electric vehicles, rural and low-income communities in Appalachia have struggled in the transition, due in part to a lack of infrastructure, low awareness and limited-to-no access to electric vehicles and clean energy jobs.”

Five major components make up the project; charging infrastructure development, electric vehicle acquisition and demonstration, data collection and analysis, outreach and education and workforce training and economic development.  The proposal says long term impacts on rural areas would include transition from a fossil fuel-based fuel economy to clean energy, improved environmental quality and public health as well as creating new job opportunities. Key personnel on the project’s team include Stephen Canfield, Ph.D., professor of mechanical engineering; Nan Chen, Ph.D. assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering; Arman Sargolzaei, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical engineering; JW Bruce, Ph.D., associate professor of electrical and computer engineering; Nan Guo, Ph.D., research and development engineer, Center for Manufacturing Research, iMakerSpace; and Michael Aikens, director of innovation and entrepreneurship, Research & Economic Development.

Read the university news release here.