The Texas A&M University Gulf Coast Center of Excellence (GCCoE) aims to achieve the following objectives:
- Improve the operational efficiency of local manufacturers,
- Facilitate and back regional energy efficiency initiatives,
- Spearhead educational, instructional, and workforce development endeavors for a diverse spectrum of students, trainees, and professionals in the manufacturing sector.
A key area of focus for this center involves advancing smart assessment technologies, encompassing sensing devices, intelligent diagnostic software, and virtual assessment tools to elevate energy evaluations. The center provides support to Industrial Assessment Centers in the Gulf Coast region by developing training programs, curricula, and energy analysis tools.
Responsibilities
Student technicians are anticipated to have earned their ITAC certificate and will participate in the following activities:
- Conduct virtual energy assessments of smaller manufacturing facilities via video conference.
- Create template energy recommendation documents and software calculators.
- Review and edit technical documents produced by regional ITAC teams.
Student researchers are anticipated to be MEEN undergraduate or Ph.D. students without previous ITAC experience. They will participate in the following activities:
- Technical evaluation of the latest commercial devices for monitoring the energy use of manufacturing equipment.
- Creation, prototyping, and field tests of portable sensing and diagnostic devices for common manufacturing equipment.
- Creation and evaluation of algorithms and software programs for automated data analysis from sensing modules.