Oregon PSM

Over 50 people attended a PSM workshop in the LaSells Stewart Center at Oregon State University (OSU) on the 2nd of December. The meeting brought together faculty and industry representatives to discuss a new PSM in Renewable Energy to be offered jointly with Portland State University and the Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT).

Sherman Bloomer, Dean of the College of Science at OSU, welcomed participants, and after a brief overview of PSM programs and renewable energy research, Charlie Johnson, Senior Economic Analyst at the Oregon Employment Department, shared information about the state’s workforce trends in renewable energy. Speakers from industry included Luke Maynard, Pacific Northwest Area Manager for Greenwood Resources, and Tim Eggeman, Chief Technology Officer and Founder of ZeaChem, Inc.

Presentations about relevant undergraduate programs in renewable energy were given by Mateo Aboy, Chair of Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy at OIT, Kate Field, Director of BioResource Research at OSU, and Caine Francis, Advisor in the OSU College of Engineering. OSU PSM Advisory Board members, John Dummer, Steve Anderson, Bill Otani, Chris Beatty, and John Ledger facilitated group discussions after morning presentations and also served as judges of the PSM student poster competition. The new PSM in Renewable Energy is expected to be approved in the fall of 2012, and the first students will likely start in the fall of 2013.