Wildcat Wind Power
Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas
Faculty Adviser
Hongyu Wu, [email protected]
Vision and Mission
Kansas State University’s Wildcat Wind Power team hails from the nation’s heartland—and a region that boasts some of the highest wind speeds in the United States. We understand that continued wind energy development in Kansas will directly impact our communities, and we want to educate these communities about the local and global benefits of wind energy, as well as promote clean, renewable energy. Our team is participating in the U.S. Department of Energy Collegiate Wind Competition (CWC) to build our engineering, design, and manufacturing skills. In addition, we want to deepen our understanding of wind energy industry practices and promote the development of future talent for the wind energy industry.
Background
We are a student-led extracurricular organization in the Carl R. Ice College of Engineering at Kansas State University. We recruit members from across the college and from other programs around campus. To ensure that we retain a diverse group of students, we recruit both more experienced upper-class students as well as newer students who may offer fresh ideas. Our group has competed in the CWC eight times, and we won the Turbine Prototype Contest in 2021. We bring to the 2022 competition both continued design success and a renewed focus on community outreach.
Our team’s membership is divided into electrical, mechanical, and project development subteams, each led by one or two team leads who direct the organization alongside a group of general officers. The club meets weekly as a full group for industry meetings, internal presentations, and discussion, while subteams host separate weekly meetings for design and testing.
Back row (left to right): Lane Lundeen, Caleb Stuber, and Josh Meurer.
Seventh row: Kent Deterding, Jakob Long, Matthew Monsion, Michael Brosseit.
Sixth row: Kavian Kalantari, Eric Christman, Hayden Dillavou.
Fifth row: Robert Foeller, Stephen Kielhofner, Jacob Lowe, Chase Eccles.
Fourth row: Brianna Wagoner, Tyler Schooley, Israel Barazza.
Third row: Rafael Lopez Barazza, Andrew Dulac, Ryan Sherman Alex Hill.
Second row: Ruben Porras, David Pierson, Sunny Webb.
First row: Macie Sexten, Andy Freshnock, Mary Walters, Joseph Mossy.
Strategy
For the Turbine Prototype Contest, we are working to design effective control systems for wind turbines. This year, we plan to focus primarily on the aerodynamic and structural aspects of the turbine design. This aligns with the 2022 competition’s reduced focus on wind turbine controls and inclusion of the offshore wind turbine foundation systems. However, we still plan to improve our control systems from previous competitions with the introduction of a new rectifier and pitch system. For the Project Development Contest, we are transitioning toward the use of industry-standard tools to produce more accurate analyses. We are also recruiting members who possess a strong knowledge of finance.
As part of our work for the Connection Creation Contest, we have networked with many individuals across the wind energy industry this year. These conversations have provided valuable professional development opportunities for our team members. We have planned outreach activities that will leverage these connections and the knowledge we have gained through the CWC to educate our community about wind energy.
Follow Us
- Instagram: @ksu_wwp | @kstateeng | @kansasstateuniversity
- LinkedIn: Wildcat Wind Power | Kansas State University
- Twitter: @ksu_wwp | @KStateEngg | @KState
- Website: Wildcat Wind Power
This content was submitted to the U.S. Department of Energy by the team. Find more information on CWC 2022.