Clean energy can come from the sun and the wind. It can also come from water. Hydro energy on flowing rivers is nothing particularly new, but energy from waves is still a bit of a budding topic.
"[We're] thinking about new ways, new technologies that we can use to harness energy from our marine environments," says Craig Hill, PhD and Associate Professor in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department at the University of Minnesota Duluth. "There are many new concepts out there." On Friday, August 28th at 1:30pm, Hill will be on board the Blue Heron, the Large Lakes Observatory research vessel, to present The Waves on the Great Lakes: Energy and Observations.
"A lot of people like to picture a buoy floating on the surface of the water," says Hill about wave energy. "There are other concepts that are like big paddles that flap back and forth as each wave moves past." This new approach to clean energy is still in an explorative phase and new ideas for how to harness the power of waves are still coming forward. Hill and the Blue Heron can be found at 353 Harbor Drive in Duluth near the Great Lakes Aquarium.
Earlier that same day, author Alex Messenger will be present to talk about his work. This is a rescheduled event that was delayed due to the severe smoke earlier this summer. To close out the Science on Deck events for the summer is Ted Ozersky, PhD, who will present What Lakes Do In Winter on Friday, September 11th.
For more information about the Science on Deck events can be found on the Large Lakes Observatory website.
You can hear Green Visions at 8:20am every Wednesday on Northland Morning.
