U.S. Department of Energy Hydropower Collegiate Competition (HCC)
Team Name: UNF Hydro-Swoop Team
University of North Florida, Jacksonville, Florida
What is your team hoping to get out of your Hydropower Collegiate Competition (HCC) experience this year?
As a team, we are hoping to learn more about hydropower, make meaningful connections with members of the industry, and further contribute to the development and use of hydropower in our community.
Why should people care about hydropower?
We believe that hydropower will be a vital contribution to developing a cleaner and more energy-efficient world. It can provide more energy without requiring the using of fossil fuels while reducing carbon emissions, making it a viable option to help combat climate change
Describe your project, objectives, and game plan.
We plan to convert the Hillsborough River Dam in our home state of Florida into a hydropower facility. This will provide clean energy to our local community and raise awareness for hydropower, which we also plan to support with outreach during the HCC.
What steps are your team taking to ensure a diverse and inclusive team?
Our team members have diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise, which allows us to share different insights about our project's development. By ensuring that our meetings offer an inclusive atmosphere, we’ve found that everyone feels encouraged to share their ideas.
What are you most looking forward to with this year’s competition?
We are most looking forward to making a big impact on our community. We are also excited to build meaningful connections with professionals in the hydropower industry.
What inspired your team’s name?
We wanted to incorporate our school mascot, the osprey, with our school slogan, “Swoop,” into our logo and team name. So, we decided that UNF Hydro-Swoop would be the perfect choice!
If you had to choose a catchy slogan for your team, what would it be and why?
We love Pikotaro's "PPAP" song, so we revamped the lyrics to highlight hydropower: “I have a dam. I have a power. Boom! Powered dam!”. It’s catchy, memorable, encourages community involvement, and promotes hydropower!
What does the future of Earth look like with your hydropower solution in it?
With our hydropower solution implemented, our team would be leaders in clean energy. Our major power systems would include hydropower and solar energy. There would be robust opportunities for communities to learn about clean energy and how they can contribute to a cleaner world.
Follow our team on social media on:
- Instagram at UNF Team Hydro-Swoop Instagram
- Facebook at UNF Team Hydro-Swoop Facebook
The UNF Hydro-Swoop Team includes (from left to right): Emiliano Chincoya Guitierrez, Dr. Cigdem Akan, Sammi Li, Thydaleaph (June) Koeut, and Bryce Young. Photo from the UNF Hydro-Swoop Team, University of North Florida [Alt: Five studnets in University of North Florida sweatshirts crouching in front of a screen reading, “Welcome Hydropower Collegiate Competition Teams!”
Our team includes:
- Cigdem Akan, faculty advisor, cigdem.akan@unf.edu
- Nilufer Ozdemir, faculty advisor, n.ozdemir@unf.edu
- Sammi Li, student lead, N01440523@unf.edu
- Sammi Li (Team Leader), civil engineer
- Emiliano Chincoya-Gutierrez, civil engineer
- Thydaleaph (June) Koeut, civil engineer
- Bryce Young, civil engineer.
