Nov. 5, 2024 The UC Irvine SMART Industrial Training and Assessment Center has been busy this year. Here are a few noteworthy updates: Kern Community College District ITAC Training The Department of Energy ITAC program is expanding! The Kern Community College District was awarded a DOE grant for establishing a new ITAC in Central...
CalPlug Workshop Focuses on Clean Energy Equitability and Societal Implications
October 31, 2024 October brought the 24th installment of the semiannual CalPlug Workshop. The morning kicked off with CALIT2 technical professionals from the California Plug Load Research Center and the SMART Industrial Assessment Center giving the workshop attendees an update on the progress they have made since last spring’s meeting. They were followed by...
CalPlug Workshop Celebrates Earth Day
May 6, 2024 A small, but loyal group of semiannual CalPlug workshop attendees celebrated Earth Day at CALIT2 in April. They engaged with experts in innovative sustainable technologies. Morning sessions featured CalPlug research and projects, as well as a presentation from Walter W. Haase, general manager of the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority. In 2008,...
CalPlug Workshop Focuses on Batteries
CalPlug Workshop Focuses on Batteries Nov. 6, 2023 On Oct. 24, CalPlug hosted their semi-annual workshop at CALIT2. The event focused on batteries as a device, as a plug load, and as storage in relation to energy efficiency and renewable energy. The CalPlug workshop series was launched in 2011 with the goal to maximize...
SMART ITAC Summer Interns Showcase Innovative Research
SMART ITAC Summer Interns Showcase Innovative Research Sept. 13, 2023 SMART ITAC (Industrial Training and Assessment Center) summer interns, John Pham, chemical engineering major and Daniela Ruiz, mechanical engineering, PhD student, presented findings from their research projects at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Intern Symposium on July 31 in Golden, Colorado. Pham’s research...
No-Cost Energy Assessments for Manufacturers (ITAC)
No-cost Energy Assessments for Manufacturers The Sustainable Manufacturing Alliance for Research and Training Industrial Assessment Center (SMART IAC) is part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Industrial Assessment Program. We provide no-cost energy consulting services to manufacturers focusing on energy, waste, and productivity. Assessments are performed by teams of engineering faculty and students. We...
SMART ITAC presents updates at workshop
On Apr. 17, CalPlug hosted their 21st semi-annual workshop at CALIT2. The event focused on the centers commitment “to find applicable technology solutions to address the climate crisis via decarbonization for our one planet and all its inhabitants.” The CalPlug workshop series was launched in 2011 with the goal to maximize communication of the...
SMART ITAC visits EMS leader
April 8, 2023 Earlier this year, members of UCI’s SMART Industrial Assessment Center (SMART ITAC) visited PARPRO Technologies, Inc. (PTI) to assess opportunities related to energy conservation, waste reduction, and productivity enhancements. Since 1981, PARPRO Technologies (formerly Cal Quality Electronics) has been a leader in the electronics manufacturing services (EMS) industry serving OEM customers...
ITAC Chat features James Russell from CLEAResults
Jan. 23, 2023 James Russell, director of Energy Transition Practice with CLEAResult, spoke with students at the first ITAC Chats session held on Jan. 18 at CALIT2. Russell discussed his role at CLEAResult– the largest provider of energy efficiency, transition and decarbonization solutions in North America, and presented an overview of how government policies,...
Students complete summer research program
Five UCI undergraduates and one master’s degree student were recognized for completing the 2022 CALIT2 Summer Student Research program, Sept. 30. This CALIT2 project was a pilot program, designed to match talented students with the needs of partnering companies. The students concluded the summer program by sharing presentations that examined their work. Farhan Saeed,...
Center recognized for excellence
UCI’s SMART Industrial Training and Assessment Center (ITAC) was recently awarded $25,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Manufacturing Office, in the Eighth Annual ITAC Awards for Excellence in Applied Energy Engineering Research competition. The goal of the award effort is to create funding for undergraduate and graduate students to pursue energy assessment-inspired...
Efficiency hunters
The United States’ manufacturing sector is massive – accounting for 12% of the nation’s economy, employing nearly 13 million people (8% of the workforce) and generating 57% of U.S. exports. It also consumes about one-third of all energy produced in the U.S. – a high cost financially as well as environmentally. Industries are facing...
DOE names UCI an industrial assessment center
(Irvine, CA) UC Irvine will receive nearly $2.25 million of a $60 million investment by the U.S. Department of Energy to assist small- and medium-sized manufacturers in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions and lowering energy costs, while training the next generation of energy-efficiency workers. UCI is one of 32 universities nationwide selected to become...