Dominion Foundation Funding Solar Energy Education and Training

March 01, 2012

The Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources, through its Higher Education Partnership Program has awarded $40,000 to the electrical and computer engineering department to develop a solar energy education and outreach program. The Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology was selected as one of the recipients by the foundation, which supports higher education programs including preservation of natural resources, workforce development and education, diversity initiatives, neighborhood and community development and basic needs for food and shelter.

On August 19, 2011, Dominion hosted a celebration lunch and check presentation ceremony for awards recipients. Ms. Cynthia Balderson, Dominion Philanthropy Manager and Mr. Kenneth D. Barker, Dominion Vice President, Customer Solutions & Energy Conservation were on hand to present checks to Old Dominion University and two other universities from the Hampton Roads region.

Drs. Sylvain Marsillac, Shirshak Dhali, and Gon Namkoong are developing learning tools for engineering students based on a dynamic rooftop tracking photovoltaic system. ODU graduate students are also involved in the development of the instrumentation of the project. The photovoltaic tracking system itself is being installed in collaboration with Trabant Solar and Siemens.

The project will impact a diverse group of constituents including ODU engineering students from freshmen to graduates, non-engineering ODU students, K-12 students and educators. Real-time data will be acquired from the system and used for student projects and display.