10 July 2009
Students from around the world will converge on Monash University this month as part of the International Future Energy Challenge.
Hosted by Grahame Holmes from the Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, seven finalist student teams will battle it out in the Wind Turbine Power Maximiser portion of the challenge, which aims to promote student interest in wind power engineering.
The three days of finals, from 15 to 17 July, will be the culmination of 18 months' work to design and build an electronic circuit that maximises the power from a wind turbine. The teams' designs, which have been developed within tight constraints, will be tested in the Monash wind tunnel.
Associate Professor Holmes said it was an honour for Monash to host the challenge -- the first time it has been held outside the US.
"The wind turbine challenge offers the chance for students to work on a serious design and construction project; many students learn more working on this project than they do in any other unit of their undergraduate degree," Professor Holmes said.
"The competition offers a chance to apply unusual technologies to the design problem. Even if the results do not work out as well as might be hoped, the knowledge gained in learning how to evaluate and improve their technology is always invaluable."
"It helps turn them into engineers."
The International Future Energy Challenge is a student competition run bi-annually by the US-based IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) and the Power Sources Manufacturers Association (PSMA) to promote the design and practical construction of leading-edge electrical energy technologies.
Monash teams have finished first and second in the previous two challenges. As host this year, the University is unable to field a team.
Photo opportunity: Thursday 16 July. Three sessions: 10.30 am to midday; 1.30 pm to 3 pm; 4 pm to 5.30 pm.
Location: Monash Wind Tunnel, Building 37 (East side), Monash Clayton campus. Please advise of your attendance so full directions can be provided and parking arranged.
For interviews, contact Associate Professor Holmes on +61 3 9905 5347 or grahame.holmes@eng.monash.edu.au
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Media contact: Shaunnagh O'Loughlin, Media and Communications on +61 3 9903 4843 or +61 448 574 148. | 
