Recently, I was able to catch up with Greg Reed, director of the electric power initiative at the University of Pittsburgh and associate director of the school’s Center for Energy, to discuss the progress being made in tackling the workforce gap officials see coming in the electric power field.
The center is in the second year of a three-year grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and is on the cusp of completing a new electric power systems lab within the Swanson School of Engineering’s Benedum Hall. So far, popularity of the program is growing both with students and industry partnerships, Reed said. There are about 50 students, both graduate and undergraduate, in the electric power initiative. Since 2007, the electric power engineering concentration has been earned by one-third of Pitt's electrical engineering graduates.
Like many industrial sectors, the power industry faces a wave of baby boomer retirements and a notable gap in talent between those leaving and those just starting their careers.
As a result, students are graduating from college — particularly electrical engineers — and given more responsibility earlier in their careers than workers of previous generations, Reed said. So, programs such as his need to prepare students for those early responsibilities.
The school is launching a post-graduate certificate program to educate students who may be working in the industry but without formal academic training, Reed said.
With the center, Pitt is positioning itself as a power engineering leader and tapping into the region’s growing energy sector. For instance, the new power systems lab is sponsored by Eaton Corp. and full of donated equipment for students. The school is able to tap industry leaders as adjunct professors.
Reed said he taps his extensive network to bring in outside experts for about 25 percent of his lectures.
In addition to opportunities for undergraduate and graduate studies, the center also is ramping up partnerships with local companies and organizations on funded research projects. There are 13 such projects, including:
- Work with FirstEnergy Service Co., FE Technologies and BPL Global on integrating renewable energy into the grid
- A project with Mitsubishi Electric Corp.'s Power & Electrical Systems Division on high-voltage, direct current technology development
- A project with Eaton on renewable integration and energy storage development