The University of Alabama College of Engineering held the 2024 University Turbine Systems Research and Advanced Turbines Program Review Meeting from Sept. 24-25 at the Bryant Conference Center.
The UTSR meeting featured four keynote addresses, a panel discussion on the “Decarbonization of the Existing Gas Turbine Fleet,” and the presentation of numerous Department of Energy-sponsored projects, alongside a tour of the UA Engine and Combustion Laboratories and a dinner at the Tuscaloosa River Market. The annual conference aims to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and collaboration among researchers to create a network of expertise that leads to the furtherance of innovation in the turbine field.
Dr. Ajay Agrawal, professor and Robert F. Barfield Endowed Chair in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, served as a keynote speaker and as a member of the organizing committee, facilitating the University’s hosting of the conference.
“We at UA are proud to host the UTSR meeting in Tuscaloosa, since it greatly enhances the University’s reputation among the technical community, around the country and abroad,” Agrawal said. “Conference organizers are thankful for the unwavering support received from UA administration, including President Stuart Bell, provost James T. Dalton, vice president for research and economic development Bryan Boudouris, and College of Engineering Dean Cliff Henderson.”
According to Agrawal, the conference drew a crowd of over 100 individuals from across the nation, representing academia, industry and government, all of whom perform or are interested in research focused on “reducing the carbon footprint of electricity generation using gas turbines and turbomachinery.”
“For most participants at the meeting, this was their first visit to The University of Alabama, and everyone was impressed by the beauty of our campus and the top-notch research facilities of the Engines and Combustion Labs,” Agrawal said.
The UTSR program, which aims to investigate scientific and engineering principles governing the design and operation of gas turbines in support of the DOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management’s Advanced Turbine Program goals, is a part of the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory.