As prices at the pump hit an all-time high, UMR researchers are trying to help shrink our nation's dependence on fossil fuels and reduce pollution by improving fuel cells – the battery of the future. An expert in ceramics, Richard Brow, chair of materials science and engineering and professor of ceramic engineering at UMR, is part of a team developing a stronger solid oxide fuel cell sealant from glass-ceramic materials.
As you might expect, most members of UMR’s national champion Solar Car Team are engineering students. Most, but not all.
Members of the Formula Car Team at the University of Missouri-Rolla spend a lot of long nights at Lowe’s and Wal-Mart – after the stores have closed.
Von L. Richards II, the Robert V. Wolf Professor of Metallurgical Engineering at UMR, has always been revved about metal. While other fourth graders were playing on swing-sets and watching television, Richards was trying to make metal castings in his garage. “It made my parents very upset," he admits.
Lean, green learning machines
Move over, hybrids. Two UMR researchers are working on a way to transform current automobiles into leaner, greener vehicles. Rather than changing the design of a spark-ignition engine, the researchers are developing a control strategy that would learn “on the fly" how to operate the engine cleaner and more efficiently.
A team of UMR researchers is helping the world’s largest auto manufacturer – parent to Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Hummer, Pontiac, Saab and Saturn – create a faster, leaner product development process. With an initial round of testing in, the UMR team is revved up about its promising new tool.
Imagine navigating a toy vehicle through an obstacle course – without a remote control.
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