February 17, 2012

CBS Detroit & WWJ-AM recognizes WSU's grad students first prize accomplishments in the Michigan Energy Venture Challange.

A team of Wayne State University graduate students and their unique energy-harvesting technology has won the $50,000 first prize in the Michigan Clean Energy Venture Challenge, judges announced Friday. The annual challenge, established by the University of Michigan and DTE Energy, encourages students from Michigan colleges and universities to grow clean-energy solutions into thriving businesses. The first place team Piezo PowerTech developed a device that can generate electricity from vibrations - mechanical energy that would otherwise be wasted. While the technology has broad applications, the team is focusing first on the tire pressure sensor market. The team's technology could extend the lifetime of these sensors and eliminate waste from dead batteries. Said Piezo PowerTech team member Yating Hu, a doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering at Wayne State: "We enjoyed this competition and learned a lot from it. Now it is time for us to push our business to a higher level."

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/02/19/wsu-team-wins-michigan-clean-energy-venture-challenge/
http://mms.tveyes.com/Transcript.asp?StationID=2785&DateTime=2%2F20%2F2012+5%3A25%3A48+AM&LineNumber=&MediaStationID=2785&playclip=True&RefPage="