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Trust of Tektronix Founder Awards Oregon Tech Grant for New Energy Lab
PORTLAND, OR - (August 20, 2013) The M.J. Murdock charitable trust has awarded Oregon Institute of Technology a $234,000 grant to support a state-of-the-art renewable energy laboratory for Oregon Tech’s urban campus in Wilsonville.
“This Hybrid New Energy Lab will give our students unique hands-on experience in energy integration and management by combining solar and wind renewable energy generation with storage technologies,” says Electrical Engineering & Renewable Energy Department Chair, Dr. Cristina Crespo. “As the only university offering a Master’s degree in Renewable Energy Engineering (REE) and an ABET-accredited Bachelor’s REE degree, this lab is an important part of our expansion.”
The New Energy Lab equipment combines renewable energy generation from solar and wind with modern energy storage technology. The autonomous hybrid system gives students access to a state-of-the-art model making them highly competitive and ready to work in the field with practical experience on renewable energy integration.
The lab will allow students to study real-world applications in renewable energy, such as night-time operation, periods of no wind, or the combined use of renewable and conventional energy sources, Dr. Crespo said. The new lab is the latest development at the expanding Oregon Tech urban campus in Wilsonville and furthers Oregon Tech’s leadership role as an educator, advocate, and user of renewable energy in the region.
About the M. J. Murdock Trust
The M. J. Murdock Trust was created by the will of the late Melvin J. (Jack) Murdock, co-founder of Tektronix, Inc., and an innovative, entrepreneurial leader with business involvements and interests throughout the Pacific Northwest. Jack Murdock was born in Portland in 1917 and graduated from Franklin High School. After serving in the Coast Guard during World War II, he started Tektronix in 1946 in Beaverton, Oregon. Jack Murdock’s passion for science and technology lives on in the charitable work of the Trust, which funds projects exploring the frontiers of science and innovation throughout the Northwest.
About Oregon Tech
Founded in Klamath Falls in 1947, Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech) is one of seven universities in the Oregon University System, and the only public institute of technology in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon Tech hosts the Oregon Renewable Energy Center (OREC), which conducts applied research on photovoltaic power systems, ground-source heating systems, fuel-cell systems, wind, biomass and integrated systems. Oregon Tech’s campus in Klamath Falls is the only geothermally heated university campus in America and 35 percent of its power will now come from solar. Oregon Tech has a full-service, residential campus in Klamath Falls and an urban, industry-focused campus in Wilsonville. Visit www.oit.edu to learn more about Oregon Institute of Technology.
