Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison : College of Engineering : Electrical and Computer Engineering : WEMPEC
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Jennifer Guinevere Vining
WEMPEC PhD Student in Electrical Engineering, minoring in Mechanical Engineering


Biography
Jennifer Vining is originally from Texas where she graduated with high honors in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. While in Austin, she worked at both IBM and the Applied Research Laboratories before continuing her studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She recently received her Masters in Electrical Engineering with the thesis entitled “Ocean Wave Energy Converters: Overview, Legal and Economic Aspects, and Direct-Drive Power Take-Off”. This opened the opportunity for her to work at Ocean Power Technologies in Warwick, United Kingdom during the summer of 2007. Jennifer is now a doctoral student studying direct drive generators for wave energy conversion under Professor Giri Venkataramanan at the University of Wisconsin at Madison.


Research


Publications, IEEE, Industry Applications Society


Presentations


Research Description
Ocean energy conversion has been of interest for many years as a highly exploitable water-based energy source. Recent developments in the area of controlling variable speed generation have renewed interest in the topic. The aim of this project is to explore current activities in the area of wave energy conversion with a focus on wave energy converter control techniques, power take-off strategies, environmental concerns, and state-of-the-art, as well as commercial prospects, economic impact, and U.S. regulatory issues.

My current research concentrates on direct drives for wave energy converters. Specifically, I am analyzing new linear generator (direct drive) designs with the following goals: (1) increasing shear stress capabilities while minimizing cost and size, (2) reducing strain on the bearings of large linear generators, (3) modeling the placement of multiple direct drives in one device for cost-reduced designs, etc.



Recent and Upcoming Plans
I will be completing all course work requirements this semester and am looking forward to focusing on my research.


Resume



A free PDF viewer may be obtained from the Adobe Acrobat Reader webpage. Please contact me for a printout or alternate format if necessary.





Date last modified: Friday, 22-February-2008
Created by: Jennifer Guinevere Vining
Contact: vining@wisc.edu
UW-Madison : College of Engineering : Electrical & Computer Engineering : WEMPEC