Oakland University students take second at annual Marine Energy Collegiate Competition

Recently, Oakland University participated at the Marine Energy Collegiate Competition, and took second place. The event takes place every year and is sponsored by Michigan’s Department of Energy. It challenges its participants to develop, design, and present innovative technology or ideas that utilize the power of water. Oakland’s team created a filtration system that utilizes the thermal gradient of the ocean in order to desalinate seawater.

The temperature variations between the colder waters deeper in the ocean and the warmer waters in the shallower areas of the ocean are what are called the thermal gradient. The students’ system works by using water vapor that is created through the thermal gradient to move through a membrane which separates clean water from salts and other nonpotable materials.

One of the team’s co-leaders, Ryan Younes, talked in an article posted on Oakland University’s website about some use cases for the new technology. He noted that it could be very useful for islands that are close to the equator, and would provide a sustainable and green alternative to well water, while also being affordable to the islands of American Samoa, if not many other islands.

During this year’s competition, the team created their filtration system technology with the American Samoan island of Aunu’u specifically in mind. Team co-leader Lance Markowitz worked to create a detailed business plan, which included market research, cost analysts, and stakeholder outreach.

From there he reached out to local community members in American Samoa, investors, government employees, professionals across the utility industry, and suppliers. Along the way the team gained insight into the energy needs of American Samoa.

Markowitz, who is a double major in general management and Spanish, was quoted about the project, saying, “This outreach drastically altered the trajectory of our project for the better. While meeting with an employee of the American Samoa Power Authority, we were advised to design a desalination system for the smaller island of Aunu'u, instead of American Samoa's largest island, Tutuila. The Power Authority does not see desalination as a long term solution for their largest island, but does for Aunu'u. This resulted in us scaling down our system by 100 times to ensure that we were truly meeting market demands.” 

Younes, who is an electrical engineering major, was in charge of the project’s technical design, and he talked about the ways the experience impacted how he thinks about problems, and works as part of a team. He said, “You get to meet so many different people from different backgrounds that think differently. Different ways of thinking lead to different approaches to solving problems which, in turn, leads to disagreement with your lab peers. That's when the ideas you're advancing are actually challenged, and where you find out whether you are right or wrong.”

Younes then went on to extoll the virtues of projects like the Marine Energy Collegiate Competition as a means of facilitating hands-on, research-based experiences for students as they prepare for their careers, noting, “Lance and I both got internships this summer in the utility sector – Lance with DTE and me with Consumers Energy – and I strongly believe that the research we took part in caught their eye and gave us a good chance at getting hired.” 

In addition to Markowitz and Younes, Oakland University’s team included Saber Khanmohammadi (graduate advisor), Temitiope Ayanlade (technical design graduate assistant), Gerard Griest (community connections assistant), Foster Caragay (build and test lead), and Ava Kobus (community connections lead).

This year, 23 schools competed in the Marine Energy Collegiate Competition, with Oakland surpassing schools such as Washington University, Purdue, Rutgers, the University of Michigan, Dartmouth, Cornell, and Stanford. 

Jonathan Maisonneuve, who served as the team’s faculty advisor, noted how impressive the performance was against schools with such high reputations. He said, “We’ve participated in the Marine Energy Collegiate Competition for three years now, and every year we get better and better. My favorite part of the project is the fact that the students are working on a very innovative technology – with a lot of science and engineering work in the lab – and at the same time, they are engaging directly with stakeholders to understand the water needs of real communities in American Samoa. We’ll continue to build our partnerships with the island as we move forward. I’m excited to see where we go from here.”

More information about Oakland University can be found on the school’s website.