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Backed by grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Center for Weather Innovation and Smart Energy and Resilience<\/a> (WISER) is UConn\u2019s newest Industry-University Cooperative Research Center<\/a> (IUCRC). IUCRCs are designed to help corporate partners and government agencies connect directly and efficiently with university researchers to conduct high-impact research, drive innovative technology development, and develop a high-tech, skilled workforce.<\/p>\n WISER aims to leverage the research and expertise at UConn and UAlbany to create advanced weather- and climate-based solutions for the energy industry, now and in the future.<\/p>\n Emmanouil \u201cManos\u201d Anagnostou, director of UConn’s Eversource Energy Center, Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor, and Eversource Energy Endowed Chair in Environmental Engineering, and Chris Thorncroft, director of UAlbany\u2019s Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, are leading WISER for their respective universities.<\/p>\n \u201cWe envision WISER to become a leading energy industry-academia partnership, advancing research and cutting-edge technologies to continually improve power grid efficiency and reliability in the face of a changing climate and transition to clean energy,\u201d Anagnostou said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe IUCRC program was created by the NSF to generate new and innovative research through engagement between academic researchers, government agencies and industry partners,\u201d said Thorncroft, who also directs UAlbany\u2019s Center of Excellence in Weather and Climate Analytics and the New York State Mesonet. \u201cWISER will fulfill this mission by advancing research and cutting-edge technologies to improve energy industry efficiency and reliability in the face of a rapidly changing climate and global transition to clean energy sources.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n WISER\u2019s research direction will focus on renewable energy (solar, hydro, and wind), power outage management, electrical grid resilience brought on by extreme weather, and ways climate change impacts power producers and power distributors.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll use artificial intelligence, machine learning, predictive modeling, and remote sensing to provide real-time climate and weather information,\u201d Anagnostou said. \u201cThis data-driven approach will allow us to predict how weather extremes and vulnerabilities may affect power outages and let energy companies better prepare for emergency responses.\u201d<\/p>\n To date, 14 companies including Eversource, IBM, National Grid, and Avangrid have elected to join WISER as industry partners, and 16 faculty from UConn\u2019s School of Engineering, School of Business, and the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources are on the WISER research team. Anagnostou <\/span>and <\/span>Thorncroft<\/span> welcom<\/span>e<\/span> additional<\/span> industries and faculty to join WISER and collaborate on projects and share ideas<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n WISER also will recruit graduate and undergraduate students from underrepresented groups to increase minority participation in science and engineering and especially interdisciplinary collaborations and exposure to industry-academia partnerships.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Several faculty have already proposed WISER studies. Malaquias Pe\u00f1a, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, is partnering with Zongjie Wang, assistant professor at the Eversource Energy Center on a project titled \u201cPower System Optimization Designs to Spur Renewable Energy Sources Adoption in a Changing Climate<\/a>.\u201d In this study, the duo will develop an evaluation method of power management algorithms that could guarantee reliability, lowest costs, transparency, and flexibility in present and future climate change scenarios.<\/p>\n Robert Fahey, assistant professor of natural resources and the environment, is the PI on a proposal titled \u201cIncorporating Dynamic Vegetation Structure and Tree Biomechanics into Outage Predication and Resilience Investment Modeling.<\/a>\u201d Fahey will explore how invasive pests and diseases are impacting forest health by weakening trees and their predicted associated damage to utility infrastructure under storm scenarios.<\/p>\n![\"Emmanouil](\"https:\/\/news.engr.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/manos_18.jpg\")