Cal Poly Team Takes Home Second Place, Rookie of the Year at Marine Energy Collegiate Competition

A Cal Poly team of business and engineering students made its debut at the Department of Energy Marine Energy Collegiate Competition by taking home the titles of Rookie of the Year and second place overall.

This was the first year a team from Cal Poly entered the competition.

The group built and tested a prototype wave energy converter for the competition and presented their findings at the Waterpower Week Conference in Washington, D.C.

Cal Poly students in front of their concept poster for a prototype wave energy converter at the Department of Energy Marine Energy Collegiate Competition

“The Marine Energy Collegiate Competition focused on developing a device that harnesses the energy potential of the ocean,” explained mechanical engineering student Charlie Camilli. “Our wave energy converter floats on the ocean surface and generates electricity via the upward heave of waves. The intended users of this power are isolated coastal communities and electric fishing vessels.”

The team’s prototype took three quarters to develop – most of the research was done in the fall quarter, while winter and spring were spent performing analysis and finalizing the design.

“Our goal was to prove that we could successfully convert wave motion into electricity, ultimately providing charging docks for hybrid electric fishing boats in isolated communities, particularly in Alaska,” explained mechanical engineering graduate Gage Howard.

The interdisciplinary team consisted of seven students from the College of Engineering and four students from the Orfalea College of Business.

“I thought the collaboration between the two colleges was spectacular,” said business graduate student Daniel Thompson. “None of us knew what we were getting into, but we had great communication and excellent alignment on project goals. When you have those two things, it’s a winning combination.”

The group was co-advised by electrical engineering professor Vladimir Prodanov, mechanical engineering professor Peter Schuster and business professor Barry Lieberman, who guided the students throughout their collaboration to ensure the project was a success.

“With this being Cal Poly’s first year in the competition, we were extremely happy with our results and can’t wait to see how the future Cal Poly teams iterate on our design,” Howard said.