Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC), located in Charlotte, North Carolina, established the Carolinas Energy Career Center (Center) - a comprehensive training entity to meet the dynamic needs of the Charlotte region's energy workforce. The Center provides training for high-demand careers in both conventional energy (fossil) and renewable energy (nuclear and solar technologies/energy efficiency). CPCC completed four tasks that will position the Center as a leading resource for energy career training in the Southeast: • Development and Pilot of a New Advanced Welding Curriculum, • Program Enhancement of Non-Destructive Examination (NDE) Technology, • Student Support through implementation of a model targeted toward Energy and STEM Careers to support student learning, • Project Management and Reporting. As a result of DOE funding support, CPCC achieved the following outcomes: • Increased capacity to serve and train students in emerging energy industry careers; • Developed new courses and curricula to support emerging energy industry careers; • Established new training/laboratory resources; • Generated a pool of highly qualified, technically skilled workers to support the growing energy industry sector.

Wind has provided energy for thousands of years: some of the earliest windmill engineering designs date back to ancient Babylonia and India where wind would be used as a source of irrigation. Today, wind is the quickest growing resource in Americas expanding energy infrastructure. However, to continue to positively diversify Americas energy portfolio and further reduce the countrys reliance of foreign oil, the industry must grow substantially over the next two decades in both turbine installations and skilled industrial manpower to support. The wind sector is still an emergent industry requiring maturation and development of its labor force: dedicated training is needed to provide the hard and soft skills to support the increasingly complex wind turbine generators as the technology evolves. Furthermore, the American workforce is facing a steep decline in available labor resources as the baby boomer generation enters retirement age. It is therefore vital that a process is quickly created for supporting the next generation of wind technicians. However, the manpower growth must incorporate three key components. First, the safety and technical training curriculum must be standardized across the industry - current wind educational programs are disparate and dedicated standardization programs must be further refined and implemented. Second, …

In support of the Bioenergy Technologies Office, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) are undertaking studies of biomass conversion technologies to hydrocarbon fuels to identify barriers and target research toward reducing conversion costs. Process designs and preliminary economic estimates for each of these pathway cases were developed using rigorous modeling tools (Aspen Plus and Chemcad). These analyses incorporated the best information available at the time of development, including data from recent pilot and bench-scale demonstrations, collaborative industrial and academic partners, and published literature and patents. This pathway case investigates converting woody biomass using ex-situ catalytic fast pyrolysis followed by upgrading to gasoline , diesel and jet range blendstocks . Technical barriers and key research needs that should be pursued for this pathway to be competitive with petroleum-derived blendstocks have been identified.

In support of the Bioenergy Technologies Office, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) are undertaking studies of biomass conversion technologies to identify barriers and target research toward reducing conversion costs. Process designs and preliminary economic estimates for each of these pathway cases were developed using rigorous modeling tools (Aspen Plus and Chemcad). These analyses incorporated the best information available at the time of development, including data from recent pilot and bench-scale demonstrations, collaborative industrial and academic partners, and published literature and patents. This technology pathway case investigates the cultivation of algal biomass followed by further lipid extraction and upgrading to hydrocarbon biofuels. Technical barriers and key research needs have been assessed in order for the algal lipid extraction and upgrading pathway to be competitive with petroleum-derived gasoline, diesel and jet range hydrocarbon blendstocks.

In support of the Bioenergy Technologies Office, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) are undertaking studies of biomass conversion technologies to hydrocarbon fuels to identify barriers and target research toward reducing conversion costs. Process designs and preliminary economic estimates for each of these pathway cases were developed using rigorous modeling tools (Aspen Plus and Chemcad). These analyses incorporated the best information available at the time of development, including data from recent pilot and bench-scale demonstrations, collaborative industrial and academic partners, and published literature and patents. This pathway case investigates the upgrading of biomass derived synthesis gas (‘syngas’) to hydrocarbon biofuels. While this specific discussion focuses on the conversion of syngas via a methanol intermediate to hydrocarbon blendstocks, there are a number of alternative conversion routes for production of hydrocarbons through a wide array of intermediates from syngas. Future work will also consider the variations to this pathway to determine the most economically viable and risk adverse conversion route. Technical barriers and key research needs have been identified that should be pursued for the syngas to hydrocarbon pathway to be competitive with petroleum-derived gasoline, diesel and jet range blendstocks.

In support of the Bioenergy Technologies Office, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) are undertaking studies of biomass conversion technologies to hydrocarbon fuels to identify barriers and target research toward reducing conversion costs. Process designs and preliminary economic estimates for each of these pathway cases were developed using rigorous modeling tools (Aspen Plus and Chemcad). These analyses incorporated the best information available at the time of development, including data from recent pilot and bench-scale demonstrations, collaborative industrial and academic partners, and published literature and patents. This pathway case investigates the feasibility of using whole wet microalgae as a feedstock for conversion via hydrothermal liquefaction. Technical barriers and key research needs have been assessed in order for the hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae to be competitive with petroleum-derived gasoline, diesel and jet range blendstocks.

Weekly newspaper from Brownwood, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.

Semi-weekly newspaper from Mabank, Texas that includes local Cedar Creek Lake area, state and national news along with extensive advertising.

Interview with Laura Nevada Weger, U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class, Cryptologic Technician, and Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran, for the Women Veterans Oral History Project. The interview includes Weger's personal experiences of childhood, her family history of military service, reasons for joining the Navy, reaction from her family to her enlistment, training as a cryptological technician, first duty station at Whidbey Island, Washington. Weger talks about the lack of women in unit, rate of pregnancy among unit, sexual assault in the Navy, being a sexual assault victim advocate at SPAWAR, Chantilly, Virginia, deployments aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, the Shellback Ceremony and hazing, her activity in veterans groups, the civilian reaction to service, reflections on military service, her second duty station at SPAWAR, Chantilly, Virginia, and advice for future female service members. Additionally, she includes her thoughts on the lifting of combat exclusion ban on women, working at a joint command, integrated barracks, women on submarine duty, the Naval medical system, and her grandmother's service in the Women's Army Corp during the Korean War. The interview includes an appendix with photographs and a list detailing Weger's military career.

Interview with Marjorie Rae Lutkins Babcock, Women's Army Corps Enlisted, Keypunch Operator, and Korean War-ere Veteran, for the Women Veterans Oral History Project. The interview includes Babcock's personal experiences of childhood in Michigan, basic training at Fort Lee, Virginia, duty assignments at Governor's Island, New York and Hanau, Germany, her temporary duty assignment at the Pentagon, her placement in the Veterans of Foreign War's Women's Auxiliary despite veteran status, and her brother's experience in the Merchant Marines during World War II. Additionally, the interview includes her reason for enlisting, her family's reaction to her enlistment, impressions of post-war Germany, advice for future women service members, her views on service and women in combat, and her daughter's views of the military and the military service of her mom and other family members. The interview includes an appendix with photographs and a list detailing Babcock's military career.

Faculty and student recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall.