Featured below are highlights about the latest research and breakthroughs by the university and its researchers. Contact Wayne State University's public relations office for more information at (313) 577-2150.

• New power system will be more energy efficient, cause fewer blackouts
Caisheng Wang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is developing a control strategy for using both traditional power plant-generated electricity and alternative energy distributed generation (AEDG) sources. AEDG sources include wind turbines, solar panels and fuel cells. Wang says, "By the time energy generated in a power plant reaches an individual home in the current system, 9 percent of the energy is lost. If we can decrease that loss by 1 percent, it would be equivalent to needing 15 less coal-fired power plants in the U.S. over the next 20 years."

• Wayne State receives $5 million grant for electric vehicle engineering program
As part of President Barack Obama's economic recovery plan to revitalize the automotive industry, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded Wayne State a $5 million federal grant to provide an electric vehicle engineering education and workforce training program. A critical component of the plan is to create a pipeline of next-generation technicians and engineers who are needed by an industry transforming to electric-drive vehicles.

No degree programs in electric-drive vehicles currently exist in the United States. Professor Simon Ng, who heads Wayne State University's Alternative Energy Technology degree program, is leading a team to meet this need.

• Wayne State partners with state to train first wave of Michigan's electric and hybrid vehicle workforce
Wayne State is offering engineering courses in advanced battery systems for HEVs targeting employed automotive engineers as well as displaced workers who meet the prerequisites. The courses familiarize students with battery system design, applications and interconnectivity with other operating systems in HEVs, and students will learn the basics including power demand, thermal management and battery lifecycles.

• Wayne State offers graduate certificate program in sustainable engineering
The College of Engineering is offering a graduate certificate program in sustainable engineering intended for both current graduate students as well as the technical and scientific workforce of the metro Detroit region. Sustainable engineering responds to the needs of the present, preserves the environment, and considers the possible needs of future generations.

• Researchers developing technology for clean, renewable fuel alternative
Concerns for the planet's limited oil resources, pollution and climate change have spurred interest in developing an alternative to oil-based fuel at an accelerated speed. Wayne State researchers received $1.32 million to develop technology for clean, renewable fuel alternative which is relevant to the Department of Energy's continued interest in supporting scientific research in basic energy science. WSU chemistry professors will do research aimed at better understanding the fundamental mechanisms of water splitting, a process that yields dihydrogen, a clean, renewable alternative to petroleum.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research university offering more than 350 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to more than 31,000 students.