Energy Engineering Minor Introduces Renewable Energy Principles and Technologies
01/01/2024
By Edwin L. Aguirre
For Driss Bourzgui, an electrical engineering senior from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, developing clean, renewable energy sources is a matter of paramount importance.
“I believe it’s our generation’s responsibility to ensure a sustainable, green energy-powered future,” says Bourzgui, a dean’s lister minoring in energy engineering. “Engineers in particular have a great potential for making positive and tangible impacts on our society and our planet. The continued development and design of renewable energy technologies will be an integral part of that.”
The growth of renewable energy has been surging, driven by global energy demands and the need to combat climate change.
According to the International Energy Agency’s latest market analysis, the capacity for additional global renewable energy was expected to increase by 107 gigawatts (GW), to more than 440 GW in 2023. Led by solar photovoltaic and wind projects, this capacity has the potential to reach 550 GW in 2024, the report states.
“Pursuing and attaining a minor allows employers and graduate schools to see your demonstrated interest in a particular subject and your willingness to take on a greater workload to pursue those interests.” -Driss Bourzgui ’25
Bourzgui says UMass Lowell’s energy engineering minor program will help him tap into the projected industry need for highly trained workers who can design, construct, operate, manage and maintain current and future renewable power plant systems and grids.
“The minor offers a great opportunity for me to broaden my knowledge and skill sets, both in the concentrated subject in my field and into aspects of other engineering disciplines,” he says.
Bourzgui, who is active in the UML chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World, is deeply interested in all forms of renewable energy generation, distribution, storage, control systems, microgrids and smart grid design.
“Pursuing a minor in energy engineering is a great way to learn more about how these various systems work, their integration, and how other fields of engineering outside of electrical engineering play a part in their design and development,” he says.
Boosting Career Options
UMass Lowell’s energy engineering minor was launched more than a decade ago with the goal of educating students to work in a broad range of specialties within the industry.
“It is an interdisciplinary program that offers undergraduates an opportunity to address our most pressing energy challenges and prepares them for advanced studies and policymaking,” says Mechanical Engineering Assoc. Prof. Hunter Mack, the minor’s program coordinator. “It helps them understand the role of energy from several perspectives: technical, societal, policy and economic.”
Mack says students have a chance to explore a variety of different energy solutions, including wind, solar, nuclear, hydropower, geothermal, biofuels, batteries and other electrochemical methods like fuel cells.
“This flexibility allows them to dive into topics of interest to them while positioning themselves for job opportunities in a growing field,” he says.
The energy engineering minor consists of 21 credits, with required core courses on thermal energy; electrical energy; engineering economics; energy policy, environment and society; and energy conversion. At least six credits of upper division elective courses are also required, covering topics such as energy conversion systems, electric power, nuclear engineering, solar engineering and wind engineering.
“Pursuing and attaining a minor allows employers and graduate schools to see your demonstrated interest in a particular subject and your willingness to take on a greater workload to pursue those interests,” says Bourzgui. “I’m taking part in a co-op next semester, and my choice to pursue the minor was constantly a point of interest for hiring managers and a great talking point during interviews.”
Anthony Mangino agrees. The senior electrical engineering major from Natick, Massachusetts, who is also minoring in energy engineering, has done a six-month co-op at Analog Devices in Wilmington, Massachusetts, and a three-month co-op at Indie Semiconductor in Boston.
“A lot of the employers I have been talking to are very excited about my minor, because they are having such a hard time finding people interested in the power utilities side of electrical engineering,” he says.
Mangino and Bourzgui both plan to pursue master’s degrees in electrical engineering with a focus on power systems and renewable energy systems.
“Aside from giving students a platform to differentiate themselves from peers entering the job market, the process of obtaining a minor often motivates students to find a niche or harness a passion, which often leads to a more fulfilling career,” says Mack.
He says students who finish a minor have gained marketable skills, created deeper relationships with professors and networking with industry, and been exposed to topics relevant to graduate studies should they be interested in continuing their education.
“Following a passion is always beneficial in an educational context, and it certainly does not hurt when it comes to entering the job market,” Mack says.
Shyam Sheth concurs. The Windham, New Hampshire, native earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering with a minor in energy engineering in 2017 and a master’s degree in energy engineering (renewable – solar) in 2018 from UML. He also served as president of Engineers for a Sustainable World.
“I’m grateful to have developed a more in-depth understanding of the various aspects of energy engineering,” says Sheth, who interned at GE Aviation in Lynn and Dassault Systèmes in Waltham, both in Massachusetts.
He says because of his minor, he has been able to take on projects due to his demonstrated interest in and knowledge of sustainable energy consumption and generation.
“It has increased my career opportunities,” says Sheth. “I’ve been able to get great offers from companies working on cutting-edge technologies because of the work I did at UMass Lowell.”
After graduation, Sheth spent four years at GE Aviation, working on the F414 engine that powers the U.S. Navy’s F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets. Currently, he works at Amazon Global Robotics in North Reading, Massachusetts, as a reliability engineer and product lifecycle manager.
“I’m responsible for developing support strategies for Amazon’s fleet of robotics-interactive stations that helped put gifts under millions of Christmas trees during the holiday season,” he says.