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Below are examples of of recent faculty-student research in energy resources. Each project provides information on the motivation and objectives of the work, a listing of collaborators, and links for project deliverables and additional resources.
Wood heating | Daybreak wastescapes | Distilling the forest | Forest fuels | Left in the dark | Volta photovoltaics
Analysis of institutions of higher education to assess feasibility of wood heating at NMU
NMU’s Carbon Neutrality Plan aims to reduce greenhouse gases 25% by 2030 and 50% by 2040 by reducing energy demand and investing in renewable energy technologies. Specifically, the plan states that NMU will “develop a plan to potentially transition from natural gas to a renewable fuel, such as biomass or renewable natural gas, at the Ripley Plant.” Crystal Guo, a McNair Scholar, helped to assess the feasibility of switching to wood at the Ripley Plant by researching other institutions that have transitioned to wood. Specifically, Crystal helped to conduct interviews with sustainability officers at other universities to learn about their experiences with wood heating and analyzed technical documents produced by schools that use wood heat. This research will be used to help inform decision-making on NMU's campus.
Years active
Summer 2024
Lead faculty research mentor
Dr. Sarah Mittlefehldt
Student collaborator
Crystal Guo (Biology)
Research sponsors
McNair Scholars Program, Northern Michigan University
Research Collaborators
NMU Carbon Neutrality Task Force
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Daybreak wastescapes: solar frontiers between jugaad and ruin
This study investigates and traces the contours of the solar e-waste value chain and documents the social and environmental impacts of solar waste throughout Southern India.
Years active
2023 - present
Lead faculty research mentor
Dr. Ryan Stock
External Student Collaborator
Maitreyee Kulkarni
External Research Collaborators
Dr. Dustin Mulvaney, San Jose State University
Flavia Lopes, Earth Journalism Network
Distilling the forest: a history of liquid biofuels in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
This project examines the history of the Cliffs Dow Chemical Company (1935-1969) and the broader economic, environmental, and political challenges involved in the production of methanol, a liquid fuel that was originally produced from wood.
Years active
2021 - present
Lead faculty research mentor
Dr. Sarah Mittlefehldt
Research sponsors
Grace Magnaghi Research Grant, Northern Michigan University
Student Collaborators
Brady McCormick (ENSS)
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Forest fuels: equity, environment, and woody biomass energy technologies in Michigan
Biofuels currently contribute 50% of the world’s renewable energy, yet the development of each type of biofuel technology is complicated by a constellation of political, social, and economic factors. This research examined the socioecological implications of differently-scaled woody biomass energy technologies in Michigan, including residential woodstoves, community-scale boilers, and biomass power plants. The project combined spatial analysis with approaches from science and technology studies (STS) and environmental history to understand how these different technologies have distributed benefits and burdens since the late twentieth century. Using archival analysis, semi-structured interviews, a survey, and spatial analyses, researchers investigated the sociopolitical factors that have led to adoption of biofuel technologies. This research offers collaborative new approaches for thinking about the relationship between renewable energy development and environmental justice.
Years active
Winter 2021 - present
Lead faculty research mentor
Dr. Sarah Mittlefehldt
Research sponsors
National Science Foundation, Science and Technology Studies Program
Student Collaborators
Andre Brown (ENV), Laura Calaveiri (ENSS), Mya Curth (ENSS), Eleanor Gagnon (History), Nolan Green (ENSS), Julia Hrynkiw (ENSS), Mari McClure (ENSS), Calista Rockwell (ENSS), Sam Tschirhart (ENSS), Elizabeth Williams (ENSS), Mark Zackrison (ENSS)
External Research Collaborators
Dr. Emily Silver Huff, Michigan State University
Dr. Erin Bunting, Michigan State University
Joseph Welsh, Michigan State University
Left in the dark: systems analysis of environmental injustices from solar photovoltaics in India
This research investigates the social and environmental injustices within the life cycle of solar panels in India, focusing on the benefits and burdens incurred by people working at various nodes of the solar value chain
Years active
2021 - 2024
Lead faculty research mentor
Dr. Ryan Stock
Research sponsors
Freshman Fellows Program, Northern Michigan University
Student Collaborators
Isabelle Honkomp (ENSS)
Mridul Ganguly
External Research Collaborators
Dr. Benjamin Sovacool, Professor, University of Boston, University of Sussex
Products
Honkomp, I. and Stock, R. 2022. Silica Mining Impact on Communities in India. Celebration of Student Scholarship Conference, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, Michigan.
Volta photovoltaics: A feminist political ecology of solar development in Ghana
This study investigated the influence of the Kaleo Lawra Solar Plant on gendered livelihoods of marginal and smallholder farmers of Kaleo and Lawra in Upper West, Ghana.
Years active
2021 - 2024
Lead faculty research mentor
Dr. Ryan Stock
Research sponsors
Freshman Fellows Program, Northern Michigan University
University of Denver
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Student Collaborators
Elizabeth Williams (ENSS)
External Student Collaborators
Felix Kpenekuu, Maitreyee Kulkarni, Enoch Yeleliere
External Research Collaborators
Dr. Hanson Nyantakyi-Frimpong, Associate Professor, University of Denver
Dr. Philip Antwi-Agyei, Professor, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
Products
Williams, E. and Stock R. 2022. Gender and Social Dimensions of Solar Development in the Upper West region of Ghana. Celebration of Student Scholarship Conference, Northern MIchigan University, Marquette, Michigan.