The Campus as a Living Lab

1. Topic Areas: Curriculum - Institutionalizing SustainabilityCourse Redesign for Renewable Energy Engineering Physics Advanced Lab The Campus as a Living Lab California Higher Education Sustainability Conference Tuesday June 17th 2014 Erik B. Helgren Dept. of Physics California State University East Bay

2. Motivation: to provide Physics Lab experiments and curriculum pertaining to the sustainable and renewable energy infrastructure already present at the CSUEB campus! Motivation

3. Motivation: to provide Physics Lab experiments and curriculum pertaining to the sustainable and renewable energy infrastructure already present at the CSUEB campus! • The CSUEB Physical Plant (Sustainable Technologies): • Over 1 MW of peak power solar photovoltaic panels on the rooftops of four buildings • A 1.4 MW Fuel Cell operated by PG&E – vendor Fuel Cell Energy Inc. Danbury, Connecticut Motivation

4. Motivation: to provide Physics Lab experiments and curriculum pertaining to the sustainable and renewable energy infrastructure already present at the CSUEB campus! • The CSUEB Physical Plant (Sustainable Technologies): • Over 1 MW of peak power solar photovoltaic panels on the rooftops of four buildings • A 1.4 MW Fuel Cell operated by PG&E – vendor Fuel Cell Energy Inc. Danbury, Connecticut • These are the technologies I wanted to teach about in the classroom and develop hands on labs for the students to learn about them. Motivation

5. Students ran the “Introduction to Fuel Cell Technology Lab” Fuel Cell Lab $600 per fuel cell kit

6. Students carried out all the steps needed to convert a silicon “wafer” into a working solar cell: • “Spin coat” a “p-type” wafer of silicon with an “n-type” dopant oxide • Put the silicon wafer in a furnace – this allows the n-type dopant to diffuse into the silicon • Dip the silicon wafer in acid to “etch” or “eat away” the silicon oxide • Make metallic “contacts to the front and back surfaces (silver paint) • Go out in the sunshine and measure! Making a Silicon Solar Cell Thanks to colleagues at SJSU for use of their Microscale Process Engineering Lab!

7. Students built an “off Grid” solar station, then designed and built electronic components to compare efficiencies of the commercial system to their own. Off-Grid Solar Installation This lab was inspired by a Physics Today Article T. W. Murphy Jr., “Home Photovoltaic Systems for Physicists,” pp. 42-47, AIP publisher, July 2008

8. Off-Grid Solar Installation This open-ended lab allowed students to pursue their own interests; from electrical circuit design to building the panel support structures – the Engineering Physics overlap!

9. White Papers and a final Oral Presentation on a topic relevant to sustainability: • The Cost for CSUEB to Subsidize E-car Fuel • CSUEB Concord Campus Solar Installation Evaluation • Cost/Benefit Analysis of Parking Lot Solar Canopies at CSUEB • Carbon Sequester and Sequestration Using Algae Bioreactors • A review of Fracking and its Effects in California Research Projects

10. Field Trips! Students met with scientists at the Advanced Light Source working on renewable energy materials science and technology; e.g. testing novel PV and battery materials

11. Representatives from PG&E and Fuel Cell Energy Inc. provided a “behind the fence” tour of the CSUEB Fuel Cell system Field Trips! Under construction President Morishita ribbon cutting 2011

12. Pre and Post course assessment surveys: Assessment focused on content knowledge to be covered in the class on the topic of sustainability and the Physics and technology of solar photovoltaic materials and fuel cell systems: Assessment • What is the cost of electric power? • What is the typical efficiency of a commercial solar panel? • Define “Sustainability” and can you list an example of sustainability here at CSUEB?

13. “What is the cost of electric power?” • Borrowed this “Lecture Starter” question from Rob Knapp (The Evergreen State College), who presented this at the APS “Physics of Sustainable Energy Conference,” UC Berkeley, April 2014 Assessment

14. Pre and Post course assessment surveys: Assessment focused on content knowledge to be covered in the class on the topic of sustainability and the Physics and technology of solar photovoltaic materials and fuel cell systems: Assessment • What is the cost of electric power? • What is the typical efficiency of a commercial solar panel? • Define “Sustainability” and can you list an example of sustainability here at CSUEB? Pre: 41% correct Post: 82% correct

15. Pre and Post course assessment surveys: Assessment focused on content knowledge to be covered in the class on the topic of sustainability and the Physics and technology of solar photovoltaic materials and fuel cell systems: Assessment • What is the cost of electric power? • What is the typical efficiency of a commercial solar panel? • Define “Sustainability” and can you list an example of sustainability here at CSUEB? Pre: 41% correct Post: 82% correct Also asked for feedback on the post course survey, e.g. : “My favorite experiment was making our own solar cell from the silicon wafer. I learned a lot about efficiencies in solar cells.”

16. The course redesign of Physics 3281 at CSUEB enabled by the Chancellor’s Office Campus as a Living Lab grant: • Raised students awareness of sustainability efforts at the CSUEB campus: Solar PV and Fuel Cell as part of the physical plant at CSUEB • Provided a framework to teach Green Energy and Semiconductor Industry Physics and Engineering principles to our students Summary Contact: erik.helgren@csueastbay.edu