“The next generation of these turbines are going to be offshore,” says scholar James Manwell on the future of wind energy. “I think that the potential is really enormous. … There’s a whole new frontier that’s ready to open up.”
Manwell, director of the Wind Energy Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, recently spoke at Dartmouth as part of the “Leading Voices in Energy, Sustainability, and Security” series.
The recipient of many awards for his research on wind energy, Manwell is the U.S. representative to the International Electrotechnical Commission program to develop design standards for offshore wind turbines. He is a member of the International Science Panel on Renewable Energy and has authored the textbook Wind Energy Explained: Theory, Design, and Application.
In 2002, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded Manwell the Wind/Diesel Systems Pioneer Award. In 2004, the department honored him with the Wind Energy Regional Advocacy Award.
The “Leading Voices” series started in 2011. The first season, “Leading Voices in Politics and Policy,” brought national political figures, presidential candidates, and policymakers to campus. Last summer’s “Leading Voices in U.S. Foreign Policy” included talks with a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a former Defense Department official, and a retired Navy admiral. The “Leading Voices in Higher Education” series, part of the strategic planning process, featured visits from prominent figures in higher education and concluded this spring.
