For two minutes and 40 seconds on Monday morning, a swath of the United States will experience total darkness as the moon intrudes between the sun and earth.

The temperature will drop. Street lights will come on in some cities. Birds and other animals, confused by the sudden coming of night during the day, will act strangely.

The eclipse will begin shortly after 9 a.m. Totality will occur in the Willamette Valley from 10:19 a.m. to 10:21 a.m.

Organizations and businesses across Oregon are expecting to cash in on the eclipse, from holding special events to filling every available hotel room and campsite. But for scientists and engineers, the eclipse is a rare opportunity for study.

Several Oregon universities and high schools are among 55 teams participating in an effort supported by NASA to livestream the eclipse and learn from it.

Teams from Portland State University, University of Alaska-Fairbanks and Oregon Institute of Technology‘s Wilsonville campus will launch high-tech weather balloons from the Crop Science Building at Oregon State University‘s Corvallis campus. A Montana State University physics professor, Angela Des Jardins, is leading the project.

The balloons are equipped with cameras and other instrumentation to document the eclipse. A team from Linn-Benton Community College will launch a balloon from a boat floating off of Newport.

The OIT balloon’s payload also includes micro-bacteria that will be studied for its reaction to Earth’s stratosphere, which is thought to be similar to that of Mars.

OIT’s balloon will rise to about 80,000 feet to record the moment of totality. It will continue to ascend before bursting at approximately 101,000 feet.

“From there, it looks like it’s in space,” said Leif Eccles, assistant professor of applied physics at OIT-Wilsonville, who is leading the OIT team. “You can see the curvature of the earth, the topology of the land. You can see the ocean. It’s pretty amazing.”

The OIT team will track down the balloon to recover its payload, likely in the Cascades southeast of Salem. An earlier test run that launched from Detroit Lake ended with the balloon falling near Mount Hood and landing in a tree, Eccles said. The teams use GPS trackers to find the balloons.

Ten students from a variety of engineering disciplines are helping out, Eccles said.

“It really crosses the breadth of the kinds of courses we offer at Oregon Tech, and it’s a great hands-on learning opportunity,” Eccles said.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Engineering students from PSU will launch four weather balloons armed with a variety of cameras for their participation in the NASA cross-country video project.

The biggest balloon will reach 120,000 feet or higher and provide streaming video of the event. The other balloons will reach heights between 60,000 and 90,000 feet and take still photos, which will be combined with the video to create a panorama of the entire eclipse path.

The largest of the balloons will be outfitted with a small cylindrical box containing a streaming camera, a small computer, a custom mother board and a GPS tracking device. Small transmitting devices tied to a wire on the balloon will send the images back to earth, where the video will be broadcast.

Students from Montana State University, which has a program specializing in high altitude balloons, helped build the eight-pound apparatus for the large balloon.

The smaller balloons will carry five-pound payloads that include still-photography cameras and computers . In order to keep the payloads as light as possible, the cameras will be fitted into cases that were produced on a 3-D printer.

“Every pound we save means we can go another 10,000 feet higher,” said Mark Weislogel, a PSU professor of mechanical engineering. “There should be almost 200,000 images.”

Grants from NASA covered the majority of the $20,000 total cost to equip the four balloons.

Because the still cameras won’t transmit photos, the students will race to track down the smaller balloons and recover the images. Once a balloons pops or the gas leaks out, the camera package will begin a free fall toward earth. At approximately 50,000 feet a parachute will open to slow the descent and allow the camera to land safely on the ground.

Despite the students’ careful planning, there are still some hiccups that could occur. Wind, for example, could complicate the launch and hamper finding the cameras after the eclipse.

“We can control (the balloon) by how much gas we put in it,” said Rhiana Mungin, a senior engineering student who’s serving as project manager for the PSU effort. “Making sure we have the right amount of gas in the balloon is very dependent on having still air.”

While wind would be bad, rain would be worse.  If a balloon gets wet on the ascent, the moisture will freeze as it travels through the atmosphere. That could affect the crucial timing of the balloon.

“Rain on the balloon affects the weight,” Weislogel said. “Then you get the weight wrong, and it accelerates when you get through the clouds and it goes faster than you intend it to go.”

Getting to the still cameras once they land also could be a challenge for the students.

“We are going to be fighting the traffic,” Mungin said. “The plan is to stage people downwind to be close to the balloon.”

Assuming the weather cooperates and the cameras are retrieved, Weislogel believes the experiment will result in some amazing photos of a rare occurrence.

“It’s very likely that we will get some sweet images,” he said.

The colleges’ video will be streamed .

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Roger Lindgren, who teaches engineering at the Oregon Institute of Technology, has been named the winner of the Institute of Transportation Engineers’ Outstanding Educator Award for the group’s western district.

Lindgren has been a professor at OIT for the past 15 years. In addition to teach transportation and general engineering courses, he serves as the program director of the school’s recently established civil engineering graduate program.

He is an executive member of the National Institute for Transportation Communities and serves as advisor to the school’s Institute of Transportation Engineers’ student chapter. He previously served as director of the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium.

The Institute of Transportation Engineers Outstanding Educator Award recognizes transportation professionals who exhibit outstanding creativity in teaching and are dedicated to helping students develop an interest in the transportation profession.  Lindgren is second recipient from Oregon to receive the award in the past 13 years.

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The Oregon Institute of Technology is in hot water and taking full advantage.

Approximately three miles below OIT’s campus in Klamath Falls, a massive water reservoir stretches for nearly two cubic miles. The institute has used the water to heat its buildings (approximately 850,000 square feet) since the mid-1970s.

Now, OIT is preparing to build on its campus a $14 million geothermal power plant able to generate 1.75 megawatts of electricity. Medford-based Batzer Construction recently issued a request for bids from subcontractors for the project.

The facility will be able to pump 2,000 gallons of water – 193 degrees Fahrenheit – per minute.

“I could fill your average swimming pool in about three minutes, but you wouldn’t want to get in it,” said David Epson, OIT’s facilities director.

A 49-foot-wide by 70-foot-long pre-engineered steel building will be erected. Inside, crews from Johnson Controls Inc. will construct two new generators that will pull geothermal water from a 5,308-foot-deep drill shaft created by OIT in 2009.

Geothermal water will be pumped through a closed-loop system next to a liquid refrigerant that flashes into steam at a much lower temperature than water. The steam will be pushed through turbines that create electricity. The geothermal water will return to the reservoir at a different location; steam will be condensed back into liquid.

Toni Boyd with OIT’s Geo-Heat Center, a geothermal resource and consulting group, said that while the up-front construction costs for geothermal systems are high, the long-term savings are significant. Direct geothermal heat costs approximately 20 percent less than natural gas in most residential homes, she said. The new plant is expected to save OIT $500,000 a year.

“And since we’re just using a little electricity to circulate the hot water … you don’t have to worry about the fossil fuel electricity because we’re not burning gas,” she said. “So it’s cleaner.”

In 2010, OIT built a 280-kilowatt geothermal power plant and became the first campus in the world to generate its own power from a resource directly underneath its foundations. But others also are capitalizing on geothermal opportunities in Oregon.

For instance, more than 500 wells provide direct geothermal heat to approximately half of the homes in Klamath Falls.

Also, renewable energy developers Nevada Geothermal Power Inc. and Ormat Inc. to develop a 30-megawatt geothermal power plant in Lake County by 2013. Earlier this year, Reno, Nev.-based Klamath Basin Geopower announced it would begin exploratory drilling on a 2,250-acre Klamath County site that it believes could support a 160-megawatt power plant.

And outside of Bend, Davenport Newberry has partnered with AltaRock Energy Inc. to test an enhanced geothermal system called hydro-shearing. The Department of Energy is providing $21.4 million in matching grants for the project.

In hydro-shearing, high-pressure cold water is injected into natural underground fissures. The water captures the rock’s heat and returns to the surface to power steam turbines.

With a capacity of more than 3,000 megawatts, the United States is the world leader in geothermal energy production. In 2007, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology issued a report that found that with an investment of $800 million to $1 billion in research and development, enhanced geothermal systems could provide 100,000 megawatts of clean, cost-competitive energy to the entire country by 2050.

But little money has gone toward such efforts, according to the report.

For its part, OIT plans to feature its new power plant in renewable energy engineering classes. The institute also has applied for a couple of grants to use the power plant as a research tool.

Boyd said one study would model plant performance and look at how output could be affected by temperature increases or use of different refrigerants. Another might explore whether solar technology can improve efficiency in generating geothermal power.

When the new power plant is finished, OIT will be the first campus in the world to supply all of its heating and electrical energy from a geothermal resource directly underfoot. Total savings per year are estimated to reach $1 million.

“We’re trying to reduce our carbon footprint,” Epson said. “We’re trying to be sustainable and reduce our dependence on grid power.”

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The Oregon University System today broke ground on a huge solar project, slated to be the state’s largest.

The first phase of the project will include ground-mounted solar arrays at the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, Eastern Oregon University and Oregon State University. All told, the panels will cover 27 acres and generate nearly 5 megawatts of power.

The project, called “Solar by Degrees,” begins at OIT, which established the first renewable energy engineering degree in the country in 2005. The solar energy, combined with that from a new geothermal power plant that comes online in 2012, will be able to cover all of OIT’s electricity and heating needs.

The second phase of the project will spread solar to the other four campuses in the OUS system – Portland State University, Southern Oregon University, University of Oregon and Western Oregon University. Expected in 2012, the second round of installations will probably be rooftop arrays.

Part of the project’s focus is to make use of local solar companies: Portland-based Oregon Electric is the lead contractor for the project; the solar inverters are from PV Powered of Bend; and the solar panels are from SolarWorld‘s U.S. headquarters in Hillsboro.

SolarWorld, an international solar company based in Germany, also announced today that its panels will power a 2-megawatt project on property owned and operated by the Housing Authority of the County of Santa Barbara, which may be the largest affordable housing solar project in the U.S.

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School districts seek federal bond money

School districts seek federal bond money
Federal stimulus money is starting to dissipate, but Oregon still has about $60 million in federally subsidized bond money it can allocate to school districts looking to make building improvements.

In 2010 Oregon received $112 million in bonds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 as part of the $11 billion Qualified School Construction Bond program. The interest payments were subsidized by the federal government, making projects cheaper for schools.

The state has authorized four school districts – Lincoln County, Eugene, Tigard-Tualatin and Newberg – to receive $15 million each. All four districts need to pass levies through an election, or find other ways to pay back the money, before they can sell the bonds and start projects, said Brian Reeder, acting project coordinator for the Oregon Department of Education.

If one or more of the districts’ levies were to fail, or if one were to pass for less than $15 million, then money would be offered to the next school district on the list, Reeder said. Presently, 13 other school districts are asking for the federally subsidized bonds, with projects totaling $111 million. Jefferson, Bethel and Lebanon are next in line, respectively.

“We won’t get any more funds this year, and the program is not being renewed,” Reeder said. “But we will keep working to get the bonds out until all the bond authority is gone.”

The construction industry has suffered in the recession, but some bright spots have turned up in the last couple of years. 2009 was a big year for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified buildings, and 2010 yielded many accessory dwelling units.

2011 could be the year for school projects. There are 15 construction bond measures being proposed for high schools across the state, and some past bonds are finally leading to projects.

West Linn-Wilsonville School District

The West Linn-Wilsonville School District received voter approval in November 2008 for a levy to pay back a $98 million construction bond. The money is going toward facility renovations, technology upgrades, deferred maintenance projects and construction of two schools – one in Wilsonville and one in West Linn.

More than two years after the bond was issued, the school district last week received its final permit approval to build the two primary schools. Trillium Creek in West Linn will house 300 students initially, and Lowrie in Wilsonville will house 500.

The projects are expected to go out to bid separately in late February or early March, said Tim Woodley, director of operations for the West Linn-Wilsonville School District. The schools will be built on significantly different sites, but with identical layouts, he said.

Construction costs are expected to be about $16.5 million for Trillium Creek and about $19.3 million for Lowrie, Woodley said. Bids will be awarded on April 11, with construction set to start before the end of the month. Schools are expected to be ready for occupancy by fall 2012.

Portland Public Schools

Voters around Portland will be able to decide the fate of a $548 million, short-term construction bond being pitched by Portland Public Schools. The bond money would modernize eight schools, as well as improve and repair the district’s other 77 schools.

The eight modernizations are for: three high schools – Jefferson, Roosevelt and Cleveland; four K-8 schools – Rigler, Marysville, Faubion and Laurelhurst; and one K-5 school – Markham. Some historical features, such as Roosevelt’s iconic clock tower, would be preserved; however, the schools would otherwise be refurbished entirely.

The district’s other schools would receive security and technology upgrades, as well as new playground equipment, expanded classrooms and new covered play areas for schools that have none.

“(Portland Public Schools) had a $190 million bond in 1995 that was used for seismic upgrades and roof repairs at schools across the entire district,” said Matt Shelby, a spokesman for Portland Public Schools. “It was helpful, but it was also spread really thin.”

“We believe we can make some real changes and improvements with a bond like this. It can’t just be patchwork as some of these schools are at the end of their natural life cycles.”

Instead of asking for a traditional 20- to 30-year capital bond, the district is asking for a short-term bond. If approved, property owners would pay an extra $2 per $1,000 in assessed value for the first six years, and $0.15 per $1,000 in assessed value for the following 11 years. Shelby said this bond would save the district about $200 million in interest payments, when compared to a 20-year bond.

“The strategy is to get all these projects done on time and on budget so we can earn the trust of the citizens,” he said. “If we do that in six years, we will ask the taxpayers for another bond and tackle another eight schools.”

Oregon Institute of Technology

The Oregon Institute of Technology is waiting on state legislative approval for about $30 million in bond authority to purchase the former InFocus building in Wilsonville and transform it into a new campus.

The state college last spring signed a lease for the 131,000-square-foot former office building. If it receives approval, OIT plans to buy the building for $20 million and then spend $10 million to renovate it.

OIT’s four campuses in the Portland-metro area will be consolidated into one building. The school will continue to offer its engineering and high-tech courses, and offer a new undergraduate degree in renewal energy engineering. The new campus is expected to be ready in fall 2012 to accommodate approximately 400 students. OIT expects enrollment to grow to 2,000 over the next two decades.

According to the school’s website, a request for proposals has been issued for a firm to perform architectural and design work. An architect is expected to be selected by early May.

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A college group from Oregon is looking to start another industrial revolution – in Africa.

Oregon Institute of Technology professor Dr. Slobodon Petrovic and 10 renewable energy engineering students spent three weeks this past summer installing solar panels in Tanzania, where 80 percent of the population has no access to grid-tied power. The project is the first of many the group, called Solar Hope, hopes to accomplish around the world.

Fossil fuels are expected to become scarcer and more costly in the next two decades. Knowledge of renewable energy is needed, Petrovic said, for countries like Tanzania to survive.

“The crisis in fossil fuels will first affect the poorest countries,” Petrovic said. “Their economies will crumble in 20 to 30 years unless they start developing alternative energy today. Our project is about fulfilling immediate needs and encouraging a new generation of thinkers in those countries.”

Tanzania’s power lines stop running not far outside of its largest city, Dar es Salaam. Most people in rural Tanzania rely on kerosene lamps, which not only pose health and fire risks, but also are becoming increasingly expensive – the retail price for kerosene in Tanzania has increased fourfold between 1993 and 2003, according to the University of California, Berkeley.

“At six o’clock, you go to bed or find a kerosene lamp,” said Dan Sweeney, an OIT student. “We did an installation at an infirmary where the only light they had was from a kerosene lamp. There were young women coming in to give birth. With so little light, it’s really scary for them.”

Ten OIT students paid their own way, more than $3,000 per person, to travel to Tanzania. Each student was responsible for one solar installation. Panels were donated by TUV SUD America Inc. and installed with whatever tools that local electricians could provide.

“This was not SolarWorld racking we were using,” said Brandon Little, an OIT student. “We had to make it work with what they had.”

Under the guidance of Petrovic and local electricians, the students installed 12 systems on schools, community centers and infirmaries around the country. Site selection was difficult, according to OIT student John Grieser, because many Tanzania buildings have thatched roofs that cannot accommodate panels. On buildings with tin roofs, only one solar panel was needed for each installation.

“In the U.S. you see houses with dozens of panels,” Grieser said. “A normal incandescent bulb like we use uses 60 watts. We used LEDs (in Tanzania), which are two watts, so we could use one panel to power a few lights and an outlet in a home.”

Tanzanians were thrilled about the working lights, but they were even more excited to be able to charge their cell phones, Grieser said. Despite a lack of electrical infrastructure, approximately 97 percent of Tanzanians have cell phones. Prior to installations by the OIT team, one Tanzanian weekly would take an entire village’s phones to be charged in a town with electricity, Grieser said.

Five schools were priority locations for solar installations. Tanzanian students would stay long after the school day ended to watch the Solar Hope team work, Sweeney said. Passing school tests is crucial for Tanzanian students to obtain jobs, he said, so families pay for children to attend schools that don’t even have lights.

At the country’s higher education facilities, kerosene lamps are used in dormitories where 50 to 100 students live. Many dorms – and students – have perished as a result of fires ignited by fallen lamps.

OIT students installed panels and replaced kerosene lamps with eight to 12 LED lamps per dorm, along with batteries to store excess solar energy to recharge the lamps. The LEDs are engineered to last 10,000 hours, and the battery and panels are under warranty, Grieser said. Local electrician guilds are under a two-year contract to repair Solar Hope’s installations.

The solar panels provide a temporary solution, but the country will need local energy sources in the future, Petrovic said. He hopes a new generation will be inspired to pursue solutions.

“Who is to say the next energy discovery won’t come from a little girl in a Tanzanian village?” he said.

Another Solar Hope journey is planned in August 2011 for Tanzania, and perhaps Mozambique as well. A fundraising campaign is under way so that student volunteers won’t have to pay their own way next year, Petrovic said.

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