Undergraduate Research Opportunity in Renewable Energy
NSF REU Site in Marine Renewable Energy (2020-2023)
Florida Atlantic University is hosting an intensive summer research program focused on science and engineering challenges related to the environmentally friendly creation of electricity from marine renewable energy resources.
Ocean currents off the Southeast U.S. represent an untapped energy source with a technically feasible power production potential estimated at 19 GW in U.S. waters. The time average energy densities in this ocean current reach 3.3 kW/m2 off Florida's east coast, several times greater than the most energy dense wind resource in the U.S. The on-campus research will focus on three technical challenges associated with harnessing this and other marine renewable energy resources: resource assessment, system design and operation, and environmental impacts.
Watch a brief interview with the director of this REU, related to ocean current energy production, here.
- This paid, 10 week program focuses on training, mentoring, research and providing students with an exciting summer experience that will prepare them for graduate studies or careers in engineering and science.
- Participants will typically work 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day with an hour for lunch.
- Student development and training events held one to two times per week.
- Undergraduate researchers are paid $600 along with a $150 meal allowance, per week.
- Apartment-style dormitory housing will be provided to participants on FAU's Boca Raton or Harbor Branch campuses. Student project will dictate home campus.
- Suggestions for making the most out of your South Florida visit and Research Experience have been provided by the 2017 REU class.
- If Covid-19 restrictions/precautions do not allow for an in-person REU then we will offer a Virtual/Remote REU. For this program we will offer the $600/week stipend, but not the $150/week meal allowance or housing.
We plan to offer 10 in-person research projects for the summer of 2023. |
Resource Assessment and Environmental Impacts: Regional Oceanic Modeling Harvesting
Project Lead:Mingshun Jiang, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute |
System Design and Operation: Benthic Microbial Fuel Cells
Project Lead:Jordon Beckler, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute |
System Design and Operation: Applied Ocean Current Turbine Design
Project Lead:William Baxley, MS, PE Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center |
System Design and Operation: Reliability-based and Control Co-Design of Marine Renewable Energy
Project Lead:Yufei Tang, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science |
System Design and Operation: Bio-Inspired Structures for Tidal Energy Harvesting
Project Lead:Oscar Curet, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Ocean and Mechanical Engineering |
System Design and Operation: Numerical Simulation and In-Water testing of a Wave Energy Converter
Project Lead:James VanZwieten, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus: Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geomatics Engineering |
Environmental Impacts: Materials Research to Improve the Performance of Sensors used in Automated Animal Classification
Project Lead:Bing Ouyang, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute |
Environmental Impacts: Understanding Sea Turtle Shell Strength and Resilience
Project Lead:Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Biological Sciences |
The following 10 projects were completed during the summer of 2022 by Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Scholars, Veteran Research Supplement (VRS) Scholars and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Scholars. |
Generator Design and Operation: Bio-Inspired Structures for Tidal Energy Harvesting
Project Lead:Oscar Curet, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton & Seatech Affiliated Department:Ocean and Mechanical Engineering REU Scholar:Kevin Tumolva REU Scholar Home Institution:Lipscomb University |
Generator Design and Operation: Wave Energy Converter Prototype Development for Simulation Validation
Project Lead:James VanZwieten, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Ocean and Mechanical Engineering REU Scholar:Haydn Rhodes & James Laumeyer REU Scholar Home Institution:University of Florida & Florida Atlantic University |
System Design and Operation: Benthic Microbial Fuel Cell
Project Lead:Jordon Beckler, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus: Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Brandon Kelly REU Scholar Home Institution:Milligan University |
System Design and Operation: Riverine Turbine Testing and Mooring Design
Project Lead:William Baxley, MS, PE Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center REU Scholar:Brynn Bartholomew & Eric Schaefer REU Scholar Home Institution:Auburn University & Florida Atlantic University |
System Design and Operation: Real-Time Simulation of Ocean Current Turbine in a Microgrid
Project Lead:Yufei Tang, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Electrical Engineering and Computer Science REU Scholar:Gabrielle King REU Scholar Home Institution:University of Nevada Reno |
System Design and Operation: Sulfide-Induced Corrosion
Project Lead:Vivian Merk, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Ocean and Mechanical Engineering & Chemistry and Biochemistry REU Scholar:Gabriela Laboy REU Scholar Home Institution:University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez |
System Design and Operation: Smart Materials for Aquaculture Drone Extension Design
Project Lead:Bing Ouyang, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Rachel Yang REU Scholar Home Institution:Smith College |
Environmental Impacts: Swimming Kinematics of Adult Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks
Project Lead:Marianne Porter, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Biological Sciences REU Scholar:Danielle Anderson REU Scholar Home Institution:California State University Monterey Bay |
Environmental Impacts: Sea Turtles and Marine Renewable Energy Technologies
Project Lead:Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Biological Sciences REU Scholar:Brennan Smith REU Scholar Home Institution:Bucknell University |
The following 10 projects were completed during the summer of 2021 by Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Scholars, Veteran Research Supplement (VRS) Scholars and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Scholars. |
Resource Assessment: Regional Oceanic Modeling
Led by Mingshun Jiang, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Rhys Tallentire REU Scholar Home Institution:University of California-San Diego |
Resource Assessment: Assessment of the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) Resource in the Caribbean
Led by Yufei Tang, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Electrical Engineering and Computer Science REU Scholar:Eliana Wilkoff REU Scholar Home Institution:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
System Design and Operation: Benthic Microbial Fuel Cells
Led by Jordon Beckler, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Bella Guyll REU Scholar Home Institution:Iowa State University |
System Design and Operation: Applied Riverine Turbine Design
Led by William Baxley, MS, PE Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center REU Scholars:Alexis Clark and Geoff Cole REU Scholar Home Institution:Florida Institute of Technology |
System Design and Operation: Bio-Inspired Structures for Tidal Energy Harvesting
Led by Oscar Curet, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Ocean and Mechanical Engineering REU Scholar:Victor Jimenez REU Scholar Home Institution:University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez |
System Design and Operation: Sulfide-Induced Corrosion Research
Led by Vivian Merk, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Ocean and Mechanical Engineering and Chemistry and Biochemistry REU Scholar:Charu Vijay REU Scholar Home Institution:Tufts University |
Environmental Impacts: Sea Turtle Shell Strength Testing and Analysis
Led by Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Biological Sciences REU Scholar:Mia Missimer REU Scholar Home Institution:Pearl River Community College |
Environmental Impacts: Development of an Automated Drone Charging Platform
Led by Yanjun Li, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:William Fairman REU Scholar Home Institution:Olin College of Engineering |
Environmental Impacts: Automated Animal Classification using LiDAR
Led by Bing Ouyang, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Leia Rich REU Scholar Home Institution:Swarthmore College |
The following 5 projects were completed during the summer of 2020 by Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Scholars who worked remotely due to Covid-19. |
Generator Design and Operation: Benthic Microbial Fuel Cells
Project Lead:Jordon Beckler, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Emerick Gilliams REU Scholar Home Institution:University of Florida |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Ocean Current Turbine Health Monitoring
Project Lead:Yufei Tang, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science REU Scholar:Yahan Chang REU Scholar Home Institution:Ocean Current Turbine Health Monitoring |
Environmental Impacts: Development of a Sonar Array for Automated Animal Classification
Project Lead:Yanjun Li, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Alex Schaff REU Scholar Home Institution:Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach |
Turbine Design and Operation: Applied Ocean Current Turbine Flight Control
Project Lead:William Baxley, MS, PE Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Affiliated Department:Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center REU Scholar:Emily Pippin REU Scholar Home Institution:: San Jose State University |
Turbine Design and Operation: Marine Current Turbine Wakefield Modeling
Project Lead:James VanZwieten, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Civil, Environmental, and Geomatics Engineering REU Scholar:Daniel Huang REU Scholar Home Institution:: San Jose State University |
The following 14 projects were completed during the summer of 2019 by Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Scholars, Veteran Research Supplement (VRS) Scholars and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Scholars. |
Resource Assessment: Eddies and Ocean Energy Potential in Southeast Florida
Project Lead:Mingshun Jiang, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Habor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:: Ian Robertson REU Scholar Home Institution:Bates College |
Resource Assessment: AUV Based Turbulence Measurements
Project Lead:Manhar Dhanak, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Ocean and Mechanical Engineering REU Scholar:Claudia Hess REU Scholar Home Institution:Butler Community College |
Resource Assessment: Open-Ocean Turbulence Assessment
Project Lead:James VanZwieten, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Civil, Environmental, and Geomatics Engineering REU Scholar:Alexander Mink REU Scholar Home Institution:North Carolina State University at Raleigh |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Biology Inspired Energy Harvesting
Project Lead:Oscar Curet, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Ocean and Mechanical Engineering REU Scholar:Daniel O. Gómez Váz |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Smart MHK Generation System Monitoring Project Lead:Yufei Tang, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science REU Scholar:Samuel Lizza REU Scholar Home Institution:Wilkes University |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Development of an Aero-Amphibious Measurement/Inspection Drone
Project Lead:Bing Ouyang, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Mathai Karanja REU Scholar Home Institution:Murray State University |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Shark Skin Inspired Bio-Fouling Protection
Project Lead:Marianne Porter, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Biological Sciences REU Scholar:Hannah Herbst REU Scholar Home Institution:Florida Atlantic University |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Numerical Simulation of a Prototype MHK Generator
Project Lead:Yufei Tang, Ph.D. and James VanZwieten, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Computer and Electrical Engineering and Computer Science / Civil, Environmental, and Geomatics Engineering REU Scholar:Lauren Wetherhead REU Scholar Home Institution:Georgia State University |
Environmental Impacts: Eye-safe Animal Detection
Project Lead:Anni Vuorenkoski Dalgleish, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Samantha Chesser REU Scholar Home Institution:Kansas Wesleyan University |
Environmental Impacts: Tracking the World's Most Mysterious Sea Turtles
Project Lead:Jeannette Wyneken, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Biological Sciences REU Scholar:Morgan Sommers REU Scholar Home Institution:Elizabethtown College |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Drop-in Turbine Generator System
Project Lead:William Baxley, MS, PE Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center VRS Scholar:Jesse Moore VRS Scholar Home Institution:Western Carolina University |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Facilitating Marine Hydrokinetic Energy Generator Replacement
Project Lead:William Baxley, MS, PE Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center VRS Scholar:Lucas Lopes VRS Scholar Home Institution:Florida Atlantic University |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Biology Inspired Energy Harvesting
Project Lead:Oscar Curet, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Ocean and Mechanical Engineering RET Scholar:Eduardo E Castillo Charris, Ph.D. RET Scholar Home Institution:Universidad del Turabo |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Drop-in Turbine Generator System
Project Lead:William Baxley, MS, PE Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center RET Scholar:Ashley Baxley RET Scholar Home Institution:University of South Florida (Pre-Teacher) |
The following 14 projects were completed during the summer of 2018 by Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Scholars, Veteran Research Supplement (VRS) Scholars and Research Experience for Teachers (RET) Scholars. |
Resource Assessment: AUV Based Turbulence Measurements
Project Lead:Manhar Dhanak, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Ocean and Mechanical Engineering REU Scholar:Alexandra Bosco REU Scholar Home Institution:University of Rhode Island |
Resource Assessment: Assessing Hurricane Impacts on the Gulf Stream
Project Lead:James VanZwieten, Ph.D. and Bill Baxley, P.E. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center REU Scholar:Nathaniel Small REU Scholar Home Institution:California Baptist University |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Resilient Turbine Design
Project Lead:Ionut Cardei, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Computer & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science REU Scholar:Davy Pardonner REU Scholar Home Institution:University of West Florida |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Biology Inspired Energy Harvesting
Project Lead:Oscar Curet, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering REU Scholar:Daniel O. Gómez Vázquez REU Scholar Home Institution:Universidad del Turabo |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Smart MHK Generation System Monitoring
Project Lead:Yufei Tang, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Computer & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science REU Scholar:Erica Lindbeck REU Scholar Home Institution:University of Central Florida |
Environmental Impacts: Eye-Safe Animal Detection
Project Lead:Anni Vuorenkoski-Dalgleish, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Katharine Rigdon REU Scholar Home Institution:Oberlin College |
Environmental Impacts: Eye-Safe Animal Detection
Project Lead:Fraser Dalgleish, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Stephanie Langlois REU Scholar Home Institution:Palm Beach State College |
Environmental Impacts: Automated Animal Classification
Project Lead:Bing Ouyang, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Shadi Bavar REU Scholar Home Institution:University of Massachusetts Amherst |
Environmental Impacts: Electrosensory Sensitive Species Study
Project Lead:Stephen Kajiura, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Biological Sciences REU Scholar:Lillian Mulligan REU Scholar Home Institution:Florida Southern College |
Environmental Impacts: Turbine/Animal Strike Impact Study
Project Lead:Marianne Porter, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Biological Sciences REU Scholar:Brian Nkenke REU Scholar Home Institution:Rutgers University |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Drop-in Turbine Generator System
Project Lead:Bill Baxley, P.E. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center VRS Scholar:Zachary Fisher VRS Scholar Home Institution:Florida Atlantic University |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Drop-in Turbine Generator System
Project Lead:Bill Baxley, P.E. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center VRS Scholar:Justin Fikes VRS Scholar Home Institution:University of North Texas |
Turbine Design and Reliability: Biology Inspired Energy Harvesting
Project Lead:Oscar Curet, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Ocean and Mechanical Engineering RET Scholar:Eduardo E Castillo Charris, Ph.D. RET Scholar Home Institution:Universidad del Turabo |
Hydrokinetic Resource Assessment and Device Performance Study
Project Lead:James VanZwieten, Ph.D. and Bill Baxley, P.E. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton and Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center RET Scholar:Halle Cheeseman, Ph.D. RET Scholar Home Institution:Florida Keys Community College |
The following 10 projects were completed during the summer of 2017. |
Resource Assessment: Regional Oceanic Modeling
Project Lead:Laurent Chérubin, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Mary Avis Burnam REU Scholar Home Institution:University of Georgia |
Resource Assessment: Eye-safe Animal Detection
Project Lead:Anni Vuorenkoski Dalgleish, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Sophie Waxenberg REU Scholar Home Institution:Penn State |
Resource Assessment: AUV Based Resource Measurements
Project Lead:Manhar Dhanak, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering REU Scholar:Carlos Orozco REU Scholar Home Institution:University of North Texas |
Turbine Design: Resilient Turbine Design
Project Lead:Ionut Cardei, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Department of Computer & Electrical Engineering and Computer Science REU Scholar:Antony Soriano REU Scholar Home Institution:California State Polytechnic University, Pomona |
Turbine Design: Biology Inspired Energy Harvesting
Project Lead:Oscar Curet, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering REU Scholar:Adam Rangwala REU Scholar Home Institution:Washington University in St. Louis |
Turbine Design: Composite Rotor Blade Design
Project Lead:Hassan Mahfuz, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering REU Scholar:Alexander J. Gonzalez REU Scholar Home Institution:Florida Atlantic University |
Environmental Impacts: Eye-Safe Animal Detection
Project Lead:Fraser Dalgleish, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Linnie Booz REU Scholar Home Institution:Penn State |
Environmental Impacts: Automated Animal Classification
Project Lead:Bing Ouyang, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Harbor Branch Affiliated Department:Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute REU Scholar:Kelvin Pang REU Scholar Home Institution:UC Berkeley |
Environmental Impacts: Turbine/Animal Strike Impact Study
Project Lead:Marianne Porter, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Biological Sciences REU Scholar:Doug Werry REU Scholar Home Institution:Wheaton College |
Environmental Impacts: Electrosensory Sensitive Species Study
Project Lead:Stephen Kajiura, Ph.D. Affiliated Home Campus:Boca Raton Affiliated Department:Biological Sciences REU Scholar:Olivia Beres REU Scholar Home Institution:Washington University in St. Louis |
Please utilize the NSF Education and Training Application tool to register after December 21st. This can be accessed here.
Application deadline:Feb. 23, 2023
Applicants will be notified of acceptance:On or before Mar. 2, 2023
Start date:May 30, 2023
End date:Aug. 4, 2023
For additional information please contact James VanZwieten at jvanzwi@svztur.com.
To print the NSF REU SNMREC Ocean Current Energy Flier, click here.
This REU Site is funded through the National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates program (2017-2019: EEC-1659468; 2020-2023: EEC-1950123)
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