U.S. Department of Energy Hydropower Collegiate Competition (HCC)
Team Name: WE ARE Penn State HCC Team
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
Proud Penn State Students Look to a Clean Energy Future Through Hydropower
Why is your team participating in the Hydropower Collegiate Competition (HCC)?
We are participating in HCC because we believe that hydropower is a crucial resource to address climate change and will play an important role in the country’s goal to reach 100% renewable energy goal in this century. We want to use this competition to understand more about opportunities in the hydropower industry.
What is your vision for a clean energy future?
In our vision for clean energy, in the future, we use more renewable energy, instead of burning fossil fuels, to decrease global greenhouse gas emissions with the intent to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in this century.
Describe your project, objectives, and game plan.
We will analyze the Priest Rapids hydroelectric dam located on the Columbia River in Washington state. By studying the social, environmental, and economic impacts of the dam’s facility and operations, we will analyze how the Priest Rapids dam fits into a 100% renewable energy future.
What are you doing to ensure your team is diverse and inclusive?
Our team includes students from four different countries (Argentina, China, India, and the United States) and three different disciplines (civil engineering, ecosystem science and management, and energy engineering) in both undergraduate and graduate programs. Our different cultural and educational backgrounds help us view hydropower through multiple lenses. We have also bonded by sharing stories of our own cultures.
What does your team do exceptionally well? How will you use your team’s strengths to your advantage in the competition?
Our team’s strength comes from our diverse cultural and educational backgrounds, which enable us to provide perspectives of hydropower industries from several countries. The diversity of our social and educational backgrounds, as well as our varying viewpoints, will give us an advantage in this competition.
What inspired your team’s name?
The iconic “We are Penn State” cheer, which began as a stand against segregation in the 1940s, indicates that every single person affiliated with Penn State, no matter their background, is welcomed. Our team's name, “WE ARE Penn State HCC Team,” represents our diversity, our oneness as a group, and our strong affiliation with and love for this great university.
The WE ARE Penn State HCC Team includes (from left): Chuting Sun, Xuanyu Hong, Xinran Zhang, Susan Stewart, Yuchen Fu, Tejal Shirsat, Sol Ferrari, and Akhdan Mir. Not shown is Lauren Dennis. Photo from Susan Stewart, Penn State
