20 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN Namboodiri cited technology to assist with aging-in-place and independent living and learning, such as solutions to improve safety, medication adherence and assistance with activities of daily living. Namboodiri says the data from those systems could be utilized to monitor and enhance health and well-being. Although the outcomes may evolve, CDAT’s goal will remain steady: to conduct research that has the potential to positively impact the lives of individuals living with disabilities. “Ultimately, our work needs to directly and effectively address real-world challenges faced by children and adults with disabilities such that they can optimize independent living and quality of life,” DuPaul says. Center for Advancing Community Electrification Solutions The Center for Advancing Community Electrification Solutions (ACES) will focus on electrification across three common energy-intensive sectors that affect a range of communities: transportation, water and buildings, as well as adaptations to the supporting local power grid. ACES aims to transform how communities use electricity by creating efficient, reliable and self-sustaining energy systems. Shalinee Kishore, Iacocca Chair and professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Arindam Banerjee, Paul B. Reinhold Professor and department chair of mechanical engineering and mechanics, will lead the Center. ACES’ work will focus on the development of “electricity-sheds” within a community to optimize power use, storage and delivery. An electricity-shed (conceptually similar to a watershed) is a region, community or industrial area that requires supporting power grids to provide locally generated electricity to meet electrification needs for local buildings, transportation and water systems. Electricity-sheds must be efficient, secure and flexible while working within an integrated electricity system. “ACES aims to deliver energy independence and efficiency to a range of communities through electrification,” Kishore says, “which relies on electricity to meet energy needs and is a growing force in our economy. It is predicted that electricity needs will grow significantly in the next several decades as we switch to power many of our energy-intensive processes through electricity and with increased demand from energy-intensive computing in data centers.” Kishore noted that work originating from the ACES Center may be applied to understanding communities that are seeing the increased use of electric vehicles, increased dependence on electric pumps to run water distribution systems and higher electricity demands due to power requirements of smart manufacturing facilities and AI data centers. ACES will combine technology solutions with community needs, helping to reduce energy costs and promote energy security and independence. Faculty affiliated with the center will conduct interdisciplinary research in engineering, economics, social science, policy and data science to assess how to optimize functions and community impact of electricity-sheds. With strong partnerships and workforce development initiatives, ACES will lead the way in making electrification scalable and accessible. “Electrification of different sectors should not be done in silos, particularly since electrification makes them more and more tightly coupled to the power grid and therefore to each other,” Kishore says. “Our ACES team will leverage Lehigh’s expertise and experience to understand the coupling between these different types of electrical loads and how the grid can be improved to jointly handle them.” The ACES team has been formulating concrete examples and partnerships their team might develop addressing community-scale electrification. “[One example is] electrification of coastal communities which face challenging energy and water needs and very high costs,” says Banerjee. “Another example could be electrification of warehousing districts and fleet operators, which is a Lehigh Valley concern. We could also be looking at electrification of industrial parks and campuses through the concept of virtual power plants.” “The goal of establishing these URCs is to identify areas where, through strategic investment and careful planning, Lehigh can lead research nationally and internationally.” —NATHAN URBAN, PROVOST AND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT FOR ACADEMIC AFFAIRS
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