{"id":1079,"date":"2014-04-18T17:11:50","date_gmt":"2014-04-18T17:11:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.oregonstate.edu\/engineering\/?p=1079"},"modified":"2014-04-18T20:56:28","modified_gmt":"2014-04-18T20:56:28","slug":"vision-energy-efficiency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/engineering\/2014\/04\/18\/vision-energy-efficiency\/","title":{"rendered":"A vision for energy efficiency"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n \"Mechanical<\/a>\n
As a mechanical engineering student committed to energy efficiency, Sam Walker designed and built a solar trailer with two other OSU engineering students.<\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

When Sam Walker wanted to build a solar trailer<\/a> for his senior design project, his professors balked. Most projects were either industry sponsored or based on faculty research, not on the design whims of a student.<\/p>\n

But Walker stuck with his vision to build a mobile station that could supply power using solar energy \u2014 and luckily so. After writing a formal proposal and raising thousands of dollars, his professors agreed to let him design, build, and present the trailer at the annual Engineering Expo<\/a>. That was in 2007. Walker has since finished his mechanical engineering degree and launched a successful career in energy consulting, but the solar trailer is still used at Expo and many other Oregon State events. \u201cThe mechanical engineering department now points to it as an example of engineering ingenuity,\u201d said Walker.<\/p>\n

The take-away lesson? Don\u2019t give up, said Walker. \u201cIf you\u2019re really passionate about something, then stick with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That advice has served him well. Walker is now a senior associate at Triple Point Energy, a leader in developing and delivering industrial Strategic Energy Management (SEM) energy efficiency programs for clients such as Bonneville Power Administration and the Energy Trust of Oregon.<\/p>\n

Walker began his career at a progressive energy consulting firm called Interface Engineering. He was fortunate to have a standout resume with experience serving on the board of the Student Sustainability Initiative<\/a> and performing energy assessments for the\u00a0Industrial Assessment Center within the Energy Efficiency Center<\/a> at Oregon State.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I interviewed for about half a dozen jobs and had offers from all of them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But the company he really wanted to work for\u2014Clark Utilities\u2014didn\u2019t call him back. Following his own wisdom to never give up, Walker first built up his skill set with Interface Engineering and then re-applied for a position at Clark Utilities. This time, he got the job. Walker spent the next six years managing all commercial and industrial energy efficiency projects in addition to their renewable energy program.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first started there, I was doing some of the analysis, such as walk-through audits of commercial and industrial facilities,\u201d said Walker \u201cBut then pretty quickly they realized my time was better spent at a higher level, so I began to manage and hire third parties to perform the analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides a hardy show of determination, Walker said that getting involved in extracurricular activities was key to his success. \u201cGet into the job force prior to graduation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He is proud to be able to work in a thriving industry and help companies save money and reduce their environmental impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnergy efficiency isn\u2019t going away. It\u2019s a booming industry, and it\u2019s going to continue to grow,\u201d he said. \u201cYou get to go into these facilities and help people save money. You help them stay profitable, more competitive, and better positioned to retain staff. It feels really good.\u201d<\/p>\n

–Abby P. Metzger<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Sam Walker wanted to build a solar trailer for his senior design project, his professors balked. Most projects were either industry sponsored or based on faculty research, not on the design whims of a student. But Walker stuck with his vision to build a mobile station that could supply power using solar energy \u2014… Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1066,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1500,96386],"tags":[1264,199175,201584,872,101770,2358,201607,201610],"class_list":["post-1079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni","category-industry","tag-college-of-engineering","tag-energy-efficiency","tag-energy-efficiency-center","tag-engineering","tag-engineering-expo","tag-mechanical-engineering","tag-sam-walker","tag-solar-trailer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1066"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1079"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1083,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1079\/revisions\/1083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.blogs.oregonstate.edu\/engineering\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}