During today’s class, we discussed the up and coming industry of renewable energy! Although it may seem like we see renewable energy popping up everywhere nowadays, in reality, renewables currently only account for less than 15% of energy used in the U.S.. When we shared this fact with the students, they thought is seemed silly to NOT be using renewable resources to power our daily lives.
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Putting our creativity and new knowledge to the test, each student had a chance to experiment with their own mini-wind turbines! The students were tasked with making a blade that would allow the turbine to spin in front of a fan. The goal was to generate enough power from these 3D printed motors to light up a small light bulb. Happy to say, the students eagerly accepted the challenge and blew us away with their wonderful ideas (pun intended).
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We may still have a long way to go in terms of renewable energy, but at least we have passionate young individuals who are learning about the issue and actively seeking solutions!

In the second installment of our "Women in STEM Careers" blog series, we hear from Dr. Mikki McComb-Kobza, executive director of the Ocean First Institute. Read the full post at http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/sarasotaco/?p=4291.

Sarasota County Play, Sarasota County Government, UF IFAS Solutions, Florida Sea Grant
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