newarking

Until I read a recent Univeristy of Delaware Review article, Student group brings hope, water to Africa, I wasn’t aware of the existence of a group known as Engineers without Borders.

The Engineers Without Borders - Delaware Chapter are committed to “designing and implementing sustainable solutions to problems in international developing communities and bridging cultural, economical, and political divides.” Their summer time excursion to Cameroon is detailed in their blog, which is filled with pictures of the chapter in action.

I’ve heard of Reporters Without Borders before, as well as Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres. Given the University’s very strong engineering program, I’m happy to hear that there are students actively engaged in the international developing community like this.

For 32 years Newarkers have been celebrating spring by attending Ag Day festivities and this year is no different.  This year the event will be held on April 28th from 10 AM to 4 PM, rain or shine.

From early morning rock and roll from Plainview to later folk performances the entertainment lineup looks strong this year.  The list of bands and times are as follows:

9:30 AM - Plainview plays Rock and Roll

12:00 PM - “Dodging Cupid” returns to Ag Day.

1:00 PM - Ashling Ah’lyn plays soft rock and folk music with a strong celtic influence.

2:00 PM - “87 Southbound” plays honky tonk and western swing.

3:00 PM - Chapel Street Junction is rooted in bluegrass but plays country and Irish music as well.

 While listening to the music, visitors may browse the exhibitors and look at the live animals.  A hayride is always a favorite with the kids as are face painting and the horse rides.  Adults usually gravitate to the good sausage sandwiches served at the main driveway.

Ag day is being held once again at and around Townsend Hall on the University of Delaware campus.

You may start seeing a new University of Delaware Shuttle bus picking up and dropping off students within the next two weeks. Make sure to give it lots of room on the roads - your auto insurance might not be able to cover a collision with the bus, which involved a 1.7 million dollar federal fund, and matching private funds to develop.

Why so much?

It’s powered by a fuel cell the size of a brief case, and runs on hydrogen fuel. The only emission that comes powering from the bus is water and steam. There’s some video of the bus in action on the local ABC affiliate website - Hybrid Bus Serves Univ. Of Del.

This is one of the reasons that I love living in Newark - not only does the City have a great history, but it also is home to a University that is tackling some tough problems like an effective means of finding alternative energy resources. The UDaily pages provide more details - UD unveils hydrogen-powered bus that produces no pollutants

It appears that the people driving the bus on its route won’t be your ordinary bus drivers, but rather researchers on the project College of Engineering, who are testing how the bus reacts to being run on a regular route.

There have been other hydrogen powered vehicles created and run before. What makes this project unique is the very small size of the fuel cell running the bus, which is appropriate for a regular route around town:

About 30 buses powered by hydrogen fuel cells currently are in operation in European cities, including London, Advani noted. Other fuel cell bus demonstration projects are in progress in the U.S. and worldwide. Regionally, Georgetown University also is conducting a demonstration project involving fuel cell buses. Almost all bus projects use large fuel cell stacks rated at 100 to 200 kilowatts or higher.

The unique feature of the UD bus is that the fuel cell has been downsized to 19 kilowatts to match it to the urban transit driving schedule, which greatly reduces overall costs. “To the best of our knowledge, this is the first fuel cell powered bus that has such a small stack. If we can demonstrate that it can handle the urban transit drive cycle, it will take us one step closer to commercialization,” Advani said.

This isn’t the only project that the University of Delaware is working upon involving Fuel Cells. For a look at some more, visit the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Fuel Cell Research Laboratory, where they have more information on the Bus.

Another implication of the small size of the fuel cell used is that the cost of future buses developed with these much smaller fuel cell stacks may be much less expensive to develop in the future.

The ebbs and flows of people in Delaware, move folks to the beach during the summer season, and out of the City of Newark.

In the last week or so, the population of town has dwindled to a fraction of what it is when the University of Delaware is in session.

People loading moving trucks is a common sight these days

(more…)

In 1916, the cost of an education at the University of Delaware, then Delaware College, was a little less than today.

The Delaware College Bulletin from February, 1916, itemizes the expenses that a student may expect to pay:

Tuition:

Tuition is free to students from the State of Delaware.  The tuition for all other students is $ 25 a year.

(more…)

This is graduation weekend in Newark, when most University of Delaware students leave for the summer, and in some cases, forever.

 It’s not unusual to see signs crafted from sheets around town, with thanks to parents for the chance to earn a degree.

Some are simply thanks.

(more…)