NIAC students, faculty help Hastings organizations become more efficient

A team of College of Engineering students and faculty from the Nebraska Industrial Assessment Center (NIAC) are gaining valuable experience while helping a utility and a business in Hastings become more efficient.

A Hastings Tribune article (link below) recounted the team's work in early November with Hastings Utilities' Pollution Control Facility and during the summer at the Thermo King plant.

Headed by three Nebraska Engineering faculty -- Robert Williams, associate professor of mechanical and materials engineering; Bruce Dvorak, professor of civil engineering; and George Gogos, professor of mechanical and materials engineering -- NIAC has been awarded a US Department of Energy (DOE) grant of more than $1.4 million to help small manufacturers use energy more efficiently and train engineering students in energy management and manufacturing processes. The NIAC is one of 21 Industrial Assessment Centers around the country.