By Kelsey Simpkins

Principal investigator
Qin (Christine) Lv

Funding
National Science Foundation (NSF)

Collaboration + support
Argonne National Laboratory; babyֱapp State University; Cornell University; Idaho National Laboratory; National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL); Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Purdue University; University of Auckland New Zealand; University of babyֱapp babyֱapp Springs; University of Texas at El Paso; Utah State University; Virginia Tech

New engineering research center aims to electrify transportation, expand education

A major collaboration amongengineering, industry and educationis paving the way to the future ofelectrified transportation. Launchedin 2020, ASPIRE—AdvancingSustainability through PoweredInfrastructure for RoadwayElectrification—is a groundbreaking,multidisciplinary center that exploresa diverse range of transportationquestions, from electrified highwaysthat energize vehicles to theplacement of charging stations, datasecurity and workforce development.

The Utah State University-led center’sinaugural director is Regan Zane,previously a professor of electrical andcomputer engineering at CU Boulder,where he also received his bachelor’s,master’s and doctoral degrees inelectrical engineering. And withbabyֱapp across multiple departmentswithin the College of Engineering andApplied Science involved in leadingroles with ASPIRE, the Universityof babyֱapp Boulder plays a majorpart in this new center focused ondeveloping infrastructure and systemsthat facilitate the widespread adoptionof electric vehicles.

“CU Boulder has a well-earnedreputation as a leader in sustainabilityfocusedresearch and innovation,”said Vice Chancellor for Researchand Innovation Terri Fiez. “ASPIREwill provide our researchers with anexciting new opportunity for globalimpact through the collaborativereimagining of the future oftransportation as we know it.”

ASPIRE’s work is based onresearch, education and workforcedevelopment, diversity and culture ofinclusion, and innovation. It aims toimprove health and quality of life foreveryone by catalyzing sustainableand equitable electrification across thetransportation sector.

“We need to understand the factorsthat are impacting the developmentand adoption of this technology sothat we’re solving the right problems,”said Qin (Christine) Lv, ASPIRE’s CUBoulder campus director, co-principalinvestigator of the EngineeringResearch Center and lead for the dataresearch thrust within ASPIRE.

Electric car plugged in

Within its research, ASPIRE will focuson transportation, adoption, powerand data.

Data is important for electrifyingtransportation, not only because it canhelp designers plan how much chargeis available at which charging stationsand when, but where they should bebuilt, based on traffic data, consumerpreferences and more. Data securityis also important to protect charginginfrastructure and individual vehiclesfrom malicious attacks.

ASPIRE is also creating a connectedsystem encompassing K–12experiences, undergraduate andgraduate degrees, trades, andprofessional workforce learningpathways, with seamless transitionsamong them, to develop adiverse engineering workforcetrained to support cross-industrytransformations.

“We aim to break boundaries amongdisciplines and develop a diverseengineering workforce whosemembers strive for inclusion andequity for all, not only in engineering,but also in the society as a whole,”said Dragan Maksimovic, co-directorof ASPIRE’s Engineering WorkforceDevelopment and member of itspower research thrust, and CharlesVictor Schelke Endowed Professorof Electrical, Computer & EnergyEngineering at CU Boulder.

The center will partner with schoolsand community organizations inBoulder and Denver to strengthenengineering and climate changeeducation in the classroom, in afterschoolprograms and in summerengineering design camps at CUBoulder. They will also assist withprofessional development forteachers—particularly those in ruralareas—to strengthen their familiarityand confidence in STEM curriculum.All of these efforts will be backedby a vast, open and continuallygrowing library of high-qualitySTEM and design curricula andeducational content housed on theTeachEngineering.org website.

“We’re not going to separate diversityand a culture of inclusion fromengineering workforce developmenthere. Instead, we are going to includethose goals and items from thestart to create a much richer, moreeffective, more promising and moreinclusive workforce developmentinitiative overall,” said JacquelynSullivan, founding co-director of theIntegrated Teaching and LearningProgram at CU Boulder and ASPIRE’sdirector of K–12 engineeringeducation. “It’s a different wayof thinking.”