Welcome to The Center for Electromechanics

Director's Message

Major national and international trends are stimulating the growth in electromechanics. On the civilian side, energy and environmental concerns are stimulating activities to improve air quality and increase efficiency. The activities include research and development in both the transportation and in the electricity utility sectors. In transportation, there are a number of programs to improve hybrid cars, trucks, busses, and trains. Many of these improvements rely on advances in electromechanics. Particularly interesting in the electric utility area, the deregulation of the electric utility industry is opening opportunities for alternative energy sources, such as fuel cells, wind turbines and microturbines, as well as energy storage. In addition, the existing grid is aging, opening the door to new modes of electricity transmission and generation. Again, this is a fertile field for technical advances in electromechanics.

On the national security front, both strengthening our domestic security and the need to project force abroad more effectively are opening new markets for advanced technology. Domestically, prudent response to terrorism is leading to the development of distributed generation systems, i.e. local, small-scale power systems that can provide power in case the electric grid service is interrupted. Within the military, the Army is evolving to a force that incorporates a large number of lighter, more electric vehicles, some of which are autonomous. The Navy has committed to increasingly electric ships. All of these systems can be improved through the adoption of advanced electromechanical technology.

As technology advances are becoming increasingly important, the global business climate increasingly rewards companies that are lean, nimble and quick to market. This is not an environment that rewards large corporate investment in research and development. Companies that prosper in this environment tend to import technology effectively and quickly convert technical advances to profits. In the U.S., the source of this technology is increasingly research universities like the University of Texas at Austin. Moreover, the Center for Electromechanics is well positioned to help develop needed technology, as it is the largest and most comprehensive university-based electromechanics research and development facility in the U.S.

The effort at the Center for Electromechanics is a continuing attempt to optimize industry and government's use of technology in an ever-changing world. We have permanent research staff that can and does interact with industry on the time scales industry needs. We have students and faculty who assure that the work of the Center continues to be at the leading edge of technology. We use a wide range of models of interaction with companies and government agencies to maintain our responsiveness to changing needs. We provide all of the normal transfer mechanisms - students, patents, license agreements, visiting researchers, publications - but we also listen to the needs of both the clients and the University to structure a solution that works for both. This requires that we learn not just from our own research, but also from the rest of the University, from industry and from government.

Please review our work on this website. If you think that you could benefit from learning more about our work or that we could benefit from learning more about yours, please contact us.