The thirst for energy keeps growing across the state and everywhere. Data centers, new businesses, electrification, and population growth increase the strain on our power grids.
Washington State University has stepped up to the energy challenge for many decades. As dams were built around the Pacific Northwest, WSU engineers and experts in hydrology took part in their design and construction. We’ve benefited from lower-cost hydropower ever since.
That tradition continued into nuclear energy. WSU’s nuclear reactor on the Pullman campus has trained new reactor operators for 65 years, while providing research opportunities and medical isotopes.
As small modular reactors come online to provide electricity, WSU Tri-Cities and partners will teach future operators and technicians with an on-campus simulator.
Another potential energy source could grow on farms next to wheat, onions, and other crops. Two young alumni have a startup company to bring small-scale hydrogen fuel to agriculture, which can be generated on the farm and used to power equipment.
Cougs are involved in the accelerating effort to produce power with nuclear fusion, too, at companies like Helion and Zap Energy in Everett. It’s a thrilling time to take on what is sometimes called the 21st century’s grand engineering challenge: clean, abundant energy from fusion.
A different kind of energy can emerge from bringing together people in industries—beyond power generation. The Murrow Symposium hit its 50th year, and it consistently infuses alumni young and old with new ideas and enthusiasm for communications.
Small businesses bring their own energy to communities. Thanks to support from WSU Extension, local investment networks—powered by neighbor-to-neighbor lending—help those businesses grow and their communities benefit in return.