Faculty Research Forum


The Renewable Energy Demonstration Site at Shepherd University: Enhancing Shepherd's Curriculum through Real-world Applications of Green Technologies
Dr. Ed Snyder and Dr. Clarissa Mathews: Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:00pm Byrd Science Center, Room 103
With growing concerns regarding rising fossil-based energy costs, global warming, and dependence on foreign oil, the general public now has exploding interest in alternative energy of all forms. In 2005, Drs. Clarissa Mathews and Ed Snyder received a WV EPSCoR Innovation Grant, the second in university history, to develop a Renewable Energy Demonstration Site for education, research, and outreach at Shepherd University. This grant enabled the acquisition of technologies necessary to establish on the Shepherd University campus a renewable energy field laboratory dedicated to demonstrating a wide variety of green energy technologies to students and the community. The field laboratory is completely powered through emissions-free green power and now boasts a 2.3 KW solar photovoltaic system, a 1.8 KW wind turbine, a 50 gal biodiesel processor, a 576 ft2 solar greenhouse, and an “off-grid” classroom. This presentation will discuss site development, incorporation of the site into our new Environmental Sustainability program, with curricular focus on applications of green building, sustainable agriculture and renewable energy technologies, and research opportunities that have resulted for both students and faculty, with projects ranging from wind speed analyses to comparisons of electrical output from different solar panel modules. The presentation also will feature a site tour and interactive applications for audience members (weather permitting).
Dr. Ed Snyder, Department of Environmental Studies
	Dr. Ed Snyder earned B.A., B.S., and M.S. degrees at Eastern Washington University (Cheney, WA) and a Ph.D. in Geology at the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana, IL). He joined the Shepherd University faculty in 1986 and is a founder of the Environmental Studies Program, started in 1997. He has served as Director of the Institute for Environmental Studies since its inception in 1999. Dr. Snyder’s research has focused on geology and paleobiology, with an emphasis on Bryozoa fossils and paleoecology, water quality and its relationship to environmental issues, and sustainable energy resource development. His monograph on the “Revised Taxonomic Procedures and Paleoecologic Applications for some North American Fenestellidae and polyporidae (Bryozoa)” was awarded the Osgood Prize, and he has published most recently in the Journal of Paleontology. Dr. Snyder has served on the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) for the state of West Virginia for 21 years and, for the past ten years, in the capacity of Chair. The EQB hears appeals focused on, but not limited to, water quality issues such as mountain top coal mining and valley fills, leaking underground storage tanks, effluent discharged to streams and rivers by industries, and sources of environmental impacts on the Chesapeake Bay.
Dr. Clarissa Mathews, Department of Environmental Studies
	Dr. Clarissa Mathews earned a B.S. degree from the University of Rochester (Rochester, NY) and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Entomology from the University of Maryland (College Park, MD). She teaches sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, green building, and other courses related to environmental sustainability. Her research focuses on biological control of insect pests, sustainable agriculture, and sustainable energy applications. She has published most recently in the journal Ecological Applications and has received a variety of research grants from organizations including the USDA National Research Initiative and the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program. Dr. Mathews studied ecological agriculture at the Jæren Folkehøgskule in Norway, worked at the Wilson College Center for Sustainable Living, and with her husband operates a USDA-Certified organic farm in Inwood, WV. Current initiatives include the greening the Martinsburg WV VA Medical Center Kitchens, developing organic food production at the Renewable Energy Demonstration Site, and exploring means of reducing the campus carbon footprint.