Director's Welcome

 

man with red shirt smiling

Last year I talked about federal investments in technology areas that are relevant to CAR. Since, we succeeded in being selected for funding in three distinct areas important to CAR’s mission. First, CARMEN+ is developing concrete, testable and scalable solutions for reducing transportation cybersecurity risks as we move toward autonomous vehicles.

Second, a team of chemical, mechanical and material science engineering researchers won one of the ARPA-E EVs4ALL programs to explore battery technologies that will reduce dependency on materials with difficult supply chains and emphasize the use of locally sourced materials,enhancing the performance of generations of batteries.

And finally, we are part of Connected Communities from the Department of Energy that looks at demonstrating building automation control and microgrid technology at Ohio State, to improve energy efficiency and demand flexibility with the grid. This is a one-of-a-kind program that is leveraging Ohio State’s commitment to sustainable energy and innovation for real-world, large-scale deployment.

Last year I also wrote about the importance of workforce development and the transformation of the mobility industry to develop electrified mobility products and systems. We have expanded our offerings in continuing education for our partners, recognizing the mobility industry’s need to train its workforce in the more detailed aspects of the mobility electrification process. We have also made progress in establishing a multi-state partnership, joining forces with neighboring states to create a regional workforce development program.

Further, we have launched a partnership with 1870 Ventures, a venture fund based in Columbus and dedicated in part to mobility electrification, to create opportunities for early-stage funding and to create commercialization pathways for new technologies in the broad space of mobility electrification, ranging from energy storage to electric drives, to thermal management, power electronics and software systems.

Giorgio Rizzoni

Director, Center for Automotive Research
Ford Motor Chair in Electromechanical Systems
Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering

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All media inquiries should be directed to Marketing and Communication Specialist, Colleen Herr at herr.40@osu.edu.  

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