Corey Houle Institute of Aerosol and Sensor, University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland
Abstract
Starting in 2008 with a realization that kites can produce enormous power from strong winds, investigations into the world of ´Kite Power´ were started by a small team of students and engineers at the University of Applied Sciences of Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW). After some first successful testing and very simplified analysis the support of Alstom Switzerland was gained and collaborations were setup with Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) and Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research (EMPA). Since this time a fully functioning kite power system has been designed constructed and tested at the FHNW with collaboration and inspiration from the work performed at TU Delft. This system is intended as both a demonstrator of the technology but also as a test bench on which new kite designs from EMPA and control algorithms from the ETHZ can be developed and tested.
Two OPTEC professors have been awarded three "Gouden Krijtjes", the yearly teaching awards given by the organization of engineering students (vtk). Prof. Lombaert was awarded the prize for the best course in civil engineering, and Prof. Diehl the prizes for the best professor and the best course in mathematical engineering (where he teaches numerical optimization). They received these awards at the yearly "proffentap" where experienced students taught them how to draft beer professionally.
