Cal Poly Wind Power
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California
Cal Poly Wind Power is participating in the 2022 competition as a learn-along team. This opportunity will allow team members to experience the competition and establish a deeper understanding of the wind energy industry and the competition.
Faculty Adviser
Andrew Kean, [email protected]
Student Lead
Zach Dunkelberger, [email protected]
Vision and Mission
Wind energy can not only complement other renewable sources of electricity; it can also produce energy where other sources might not succeed. Our team hopes that wind energy will increasingly meet power demands in the coming decades and that new wind power plant development will continue to balance performance with social and environmental concerns. Through the 2022 U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC), we hope to learn more about the wind industry, make connections, and gain industry-applicable experience to enhance the skills we have gained through the California Polytechnic State University’s (Cal Poly’s) “Learn by Doing” approach to education.
Background
Our CWC team operates as an extension of the Cal Poly Wind Power Club, which is student-founded, student-led, and student-motivated.
In the past year, since our first year participating in the competition, club membership has doubled. We have recruited new members through the Cal Poly Club Showcase, new-student events, and club events open to the broader Cal Poly community. These events include LinkedIn workshops, testing days, and club socials. We have also improved social media presence and advertising.
We intentionally reached out to students across all majors to diversify our team’s background, knowledge, and interests. Additionally, the team’s student-led identity creates a collaborative environment in which members support each other and build excitement to participate.
Left to right: Zach Dunkelberger, Nora Riedinger, Elizabeth Costley, Josephine Maiorano, Jeff Larson, Annie Larson, Ryan Singer, Nathan Jaggers, Zach Mustar, Lily Goldman, Sydney Alexander, Danny Ho, Timothy Reyna, Zack Cohen, Varenya Gupta, Jonathan Yu, Aditi Lappathi, Ben Carrasco, Joshua Versace, and Kian Elahi.
Strategy
Our team prides itself on excelling at communicating with industry professionals, among team members, and between subteams. We also strive for organization and flexibility, which enables interpersonal collaboration. We are all motivated to learn and improve, and we volunteer our free time to take active roles in the CWC as team members or leads.
Our team is split into subteams that work together on different contests within the competition, and as a whole, we have successfully maintained a partially to fully virtual working environment throughout the pandemic, allowing all team members to remain involved and connected.
By speaking with industry professionals, we have learned the importance of showing our passion, inspiring others, and committing ourselves to continuous learning. With our hands-on education at Cal Poly, we feel prepared to assume all responsibility to design a wind turbine, plan a large-scale utility offshore wind power plant, and reach out to industry professionals and our local community to share our passion for wind power during the competition.
Follow Us
This content was submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy by the team. Find more information on CWC 2022.