Project

Advanced Power and Electricity Research Center (APERC)

Principal Investigator
Ali Feliachi, APERC director and the Electric Power Systems chair and professor of electrical engineering, Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, College of Mineral and Energy Resources

WVU Partners
College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering; Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences, Natural Resource Analysis Center; Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Mathematics; College of Business and Economics, Department of Economics; WVU Institute of Technology, College of Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Government Partners
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science; U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research; and National Energy Technology Laboratory

Industry Partners
Augusta Systems; American Electric Power; Duquesne Light; PJM; and Mitsubishi Power

Summary
The APERC team seeks to develop innovations in systemwide control of electricity networks. "One of our missions is to keep the lights on at reasonable cost," said Dr. Ali Feliachi. Another of APERC's goals is to develop so-called "self-healing" electrical networks for use on naval battleships. Such networks would ensure that critical systems would continue to operate in the face of enemy fire.

The electricity industry is taking halting steps toward becoming less regulated and more market driven as it undergoes restructuring. "Market designs are very different in different regions. In some places, the industry is still dominated by vertically integrated cost utilities subject to traditional cost-based regulation, while in some other places markets set prices with relatively little price regulation. Most of the country is in transition, but the final destination, if there is one, is often unclear. All these differences can make the industry a confusing and contradictory place to be right now," said Dr. Stratford Douglas, APERC team member and associate professor of economics. The result has been that many states, such as West Virginia, are delaying moving to a deregulated market, increasing the element of uncertainty in the industry. "What we want to do in our research is develop techniques for assessing market design to test various market approaches," he said.

To operate in a deregulated environment, the industry will need new tools that combine information technology, principles of economics, environmental constraints, and power system engineering. Consumers will need information to decide when and how much energy to use based on real energy prices, not prices fixed by a public service commission. Both must respond in real time to constantly changing demand.

"Advances in sensors, computing, and communication will result in a completely different system," said Dr. Feliachi. He expects to see the introduction of distributed agents to control the system. These are not spies, but rather sensors and actuators made "intelligent" by embedding them with software that can detect changes and direct equipment to take an appropriate action, all at lightning speeds.

Working for West Virginia
West Virginia is a net exporter of electricity. Research to keep electricity affordable and competitive helps the state maintain its leadership position. Affordable electricity also keeps coal mines operating. More than 90 percent of West Virginia's coal is burned by power-generating stations for electricity.

Other Interesting Facts
DOE EPSCoR and DEPSCoR support the work. The WVU Research Corporation announced a $225,000 award to promote formation of the Advanced Power and Electricity Research Center (APERC) as a university-wide research center at WVU. Five graduate students have taken top honors in research competitions regionally and internationally. Also, American Electrical Power has presented $35,000 in unsolicited gifts to APERC.

Project

Model curriculum in forensic accounting and fraud investigation

Principal Investigators
Max Houck, Research Office, Forensics Program director Bonnie Morris and Dick Riley, associate professors, College of Business and Economics, Division of Accounting

WVU Partners
WVU Research Office and College of Business and Economics, Division of Accounting

Government Partners
Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and the FBI

Private-Sector Partners
National White Collar Crime Center and two Big 4 accounting firms

Summary
The Division of Accounting is using NIJ funding, secured by Senator Robert C. Byrd, to form a technical working group in forensic accounting and fraud investigation that will generate a set of curriculum guidelines for undergraduate and graduate forensic accounting and fraud investigation educational programs. Key aspects of the guidelines will be incorporated into two model courses developed by WVU faculty. The model courses will be taught and evaluated. The results of the evaluation will be presented to the technical working group and incorporated into the forensic accounting and fraud investigation curriculum.

Attorneys and law enforcement agencies at state, local, and federal-level government agencies have a need for accountants with forensic investigation skills. In the private sector, new laws and accounting rules require companies and their auditors to be more aggressive in searching for fraud. This increases the demand for forensic accountants and fraud investigators in private organizations and in accounting firms.

With today's widespread growth in white-collar crime, there is an increasing need for accountants to understand the intricacies of forensics accounting. Also, forensic accountants are needed for corruption and homeland security cases because terrorist groups often rely on money laundering schemes to finance and disguise their activities. The increased use of computer technology in society at large, and its use as a tool for conducting criminal activities also presents new challenges.

Working for West Virginia
In the past, most practicing forensic accountants developed investigative techniques and skills through on-the-job experience. WVU is developing academic programs that help prepare entry-level accountants with the knowledge and skills needed to enter forensic accounting practice. In addition to drafting model curriculum guidelines, the Division of Accounting and the College of Business and Economics will be offering a four-course graduate certificate program starting in the summer of 2004.

Project

EPSCoR Nanotechnology Initiative

Principal Investigator
Edwin Rood, director, Biometric Knowledge Center

WVU Partners
College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering; Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, Departments of Chemistry and Physics; School of Pharmacy

Government Partners
National Science Foundation

Summary
This National Science Foundation infrastructure grant provides resources to develop an integration of disciplines to produce a critical research team for exploring the potential of nanotechnology. Nanotechnology refers to the manipulation of matter at the molecular scale in such a way as to exploit newly discovered material functionality. The goal is to build useful devices from the molecular scale up to the macroscale, in contrast to building smaller and smaller devices.

Working for West Virginia This program establishes science and technology infrastructure essential to ensure West Virginia participation in the nanotechnology revolution, which is changing the way sensors and actuators are designed and implemented. Specific applications will include medical diagnosis and treatment, manufacturing and process control, homeland defense, and environmental monitoring.

This program is intended to accelerate WVU to the center of the national effort in nanotechnology, a White House initiative to protect the international dominance in economics. The EPSCoR program, which is strongly supported by Senator Jay Rockefeller and Congressman Alan B. Mollohan, has been critical to the success of the nanotechnology initiative at WVU. This infrastructure program has led to several significant and substantial grants from the National Science Foundation and the Department of Defense.

Project

Research Commercialization and Workforce Development in the Polymer/Electronics Recycling Industry

Principal Investigator
Carl Irwin, program manager, Industries of the Future-West Virginia

WVU Players
Chemical Engineering Professors Richard Turton and Rakesh Gupta, Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Hota GangaRao; WVU Constructed Facilities Center; National Research Center for Coal and Energy; WVU Research Office

Government Partners
U.S. DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory

Industry Partners
Polymer Alliance Zone of West Virginia; DN American; ECO Assets; and Gordon Institute of Tufts University

Summary
The goal of this project is a commercially viable polymer/electronics recycling industry centered in the Polymer Alliance Zone area of West Virginia. The West Virginia location is the base for this endeavor, which is expected to have national and international impacts. The WVU research team conducts supporting research on economic and technical analysis of best available technologies, polymer blending and characterization, and product and application development. This project has enabled the WVU research team to build state-of-the-art facilities that are the basis for further development of a major polymer research center.

Working for West Virginia
The environmental and economic challenge of recycling end-of-life electronics is a worldwide problem that has not been resolved. This project places West Virginia in the leadership role of addressing these issues-both on the research and commercialization fronts.

Other Interesting Facts
Congressman Alan B. Mollohan has tirelessly supported this project.

 Spring 2004 Contents

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