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Brown University is striking up a relationship with Draper Laboratory to become a major player in energy efficiency and smart grid research.
The Providence, R.I.-based university and Draper, a Cambridge nonprofit research lab, signed a memorandum of understanding last week to allow school faculty and students to team up with Draper researchers in a Center for Energy Research at Brown.
Brown said it has long desired to become a top-tier player in energy research. Through the center, the university will allow professors from its chemistry, physics and engineering to collaborate on energy-specific projects.
“Everyone knows how important energy research is to universities,” said Clyde Briant, vice president for research at Brown. “We want to make sure people know about us and hear about what we’re doing.”
Some of the potential applications of the consortium’s research include so-called “smart grid” monitoring of electrical systems, energy efficiency and demand load management technology. Those same areas are likely to be flooded with federal stimulus money appropriated through the U.S. Department of Energy. For example, the stimulus package provides $1.2 billion to the DOE’s Office of Science, which will use the money in part to support university research, and $4.5 billion for the implementation of smart grid systems.
Briant said the university had been working for the past year to assemble an interdisciplinary energy research team when it was contacted by Draper officials about a potential partnership.
For Draper, which has a strong base in sensor and control technology development, the opportunity to leverage Brown’s research in the physical sciences was appealing.
“You really want to form a partnership where you need them as much as they need you,” said Len Polizzotto, principal director of strategic business development at Draper. “At Draper, we’re really great at engineering, but we have some, but not a ton of expertise in chemistry and other disciplines.”
Geography also played a role in the decision. Providence is only an hour away from Draper’s headquarters, and Rhode Island’s size makes it an attractive test bed for technology, Polizzotto said.
Other funding opportunities exist through the U.S. Department of Defense and even utilities mandated to explore smart grid and efficiency options.
For now, Draper employees will spend a day or two per week in Providence in Brown labs. The two institutions aspire to win grant money or other institutional funding to be able to permanently house Brown and Draper researchers in a dedicated space.
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