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Study shows electric vehicles could be charged on the go via peer-to-peer system
LAWRENCE — A University of Kansas School of Engineering researcher has co-written a study in Scientific Reports proposing a peer-to-peer system for battery-electric vehicles to share charge among each other while driving down the road by being matched-up with a cloud-based control system. The proposal would result in more convenience and less “range anxiety” for owners of BEVs.
School of Architecture & Design announces 2021 alumni awards
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design has announced the recipients of the 2021 KU Architecture & Design Alumni Awards. Additionally, this year, two architecture graduates, Bryan Gross and Dennis Wellner, were honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards.
KU Law’s moot court program ranked 14th in the nation
LAWRENCE – The University of Kansas School of Law’s moot court program is 14th in the nation, according to rankings published recently by the University of Houston Law Center. The rankings are determined by a point system, awarding point values in various categories for successes in regional and national competitions throughout the year. KU Law has earned enough points to rank in the top 30 teams nationally for the past seven years.
KU professor selected for American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Fellows Program
LAWRENCE — Crystal Burkhardt, clinical professor in the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy, has been selected to participate in the Academic Leadership Fellows Program, coordinated by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Burkhardt is one of 35 aspiring leaders nationally selected for AACP’s yearlong fellows program.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Brendan Lynch, KU News Service, 785-864-8855, [email protected], @BrendanMLynch
Study shows electric vehicles could be charged on the go via peer-to-peer system
LAWRENCE — Every day, Americans see more battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) on the road. According to Fortune Business Insights, the market for electric vehicles in the U.S. is expected to grow from $28.24 billion in 2021 to $137.43 billion in 2028. The reasons for the switch from internal-combustion-engine vehicles to BEVs are compelling: EVs are cleaner for the environment, cheaper to operate and offer the chance to breeze by gas stations currently selling fuel at $5 per gallon nationally.
However, one drawback has made some consumers wary of purchasing a BEV — limited range. Unlike those plentiful gas stations, charging stations for EVs still can be few and far in between, and recharging a BEV’s lithium-ion battery might take hours, making EVs impractical for some long-range road trips.
Now, a researcher at the University of Kansas School of Engineering has co-written a study in Scientific Reports proposing a peer-to-peer system for BEVs to share charge among each other while driving down the road by being matched-up with a cloud-based control system.
“When multiple electric vehicles are in route, they can actually share charge among themselves while running — they don’t have to stop to do this,” said Tamzidul Hoque, assistant professor of electrical engineering & computer science at KU. “One car might have abundant charge, and it may not need to go too far, and it can sell its charge to another car — so there’s an economic incentive. The other car, which is traveling a long way, doesn’t have much charge, and not having to stop for recharging would shorten their journey by several hours.”
A cloud-based system would match the two BEVs in the same vicinity, likely along major interstates. Like bicyclists in a Peloton, the two matched cars could travel close together, sharing charge en route with no need to stop for hours at a charging station. The cars would drive at the same locked speed while charging cables would link the vehicles automatically.
“We’d have a complete cloud-based framework that analyzes the charging state of all participating vehicles in the network, and based on that the cloud tells you, ‘Hey, you can actually pair up with this car which is nearby and share charge,’” Hoque said. “All of this has to be controlled by cloud infrastructure, which has algorithms to efficiently charge all the different BEVs.”
Hoque’s co-authors on the study are Prabuddha Chakraborty, Robert Parker, Jonathan Cruz, Lili Du, Shuo Wang and Swarup Bhunia of the University of Florida.
According to the researchers, vehicles would come equipped with two different batteries for the peer-to-peer BEV-charging plan: a main lithium-ion battery like ones common in today’s BEVs, and a second fast-charging battery used for on-the-go charging. The fast battery, when charged, would then replenish the vehicle’s main battery.
“You don’t want cars to stay connected for a very long time because another car might have to change its route and go somewhere else, and you may not get enough time to charge,” Hoque said. “That’s why we’ve developed the concept of multi-level battery to reduce charging time.
“Just like in your computer you have fast cache memory — but it’s expensive — so you have other type of high-capacity memories that are slower,” he said. “Similarly, for our batteries, we have incorporated this concept. You’ll have small fast-charging batteries, which will be used for peer-to-peer charging, and once that small battery is charged, you disconnect, and that small-charge battery sends charge to the bigger, slower battery.”
In high-density areas, the research team proposes deploying mobile charging stations — huge batteries riding on trucks — that can recharge multiple vehicles at once, something akin to how small military jets can get refueled in midair by a tanker aircraft.
“These mobile charging stations would probably travel major highways where they’re constantly going back and forth,” said the KU researcher. “There would be a number of these, so at a given point of time one mobile charging station is traveling while another is in the station getting ready for the game. These mobile charging stations can refuel or replenish the batteries of multiple vehicles simultaneously.”
The end result of the peer-to-peer system proposed by Hoque and his colleagues would result in more convenience and less “range anxiety” for owners of BEVs and also a cleaner environment. Hoque and his co-authors used sophisticated computer modeling software to measure recharging requirements of BEVs as well as changes to environmental impact of cars in a simulated peer-to-peer system.
“We used a simulator called SUMO that basically allows you to create scenarios where a number of different electric vehicles are running on a given highway, and then we introduce this concept of mobile charging or peer-to-peer charging and we also introduced the concept of mobile charging stations in the simulation and saw how far each of the cars would have gone without recharging versus with peer-to-peer charging,” Hoque said. “We saw a substantial reduction of refueling requirements among electrical vehicles — so that’s promising. We also did an analysis assuming these mobile charging stations, which are the big trucks, are recharged using renewable energy, and saw a big reduction in carbon emission, so that is also very promising.”
Hoque said the initial setup of a peer-to-peer charging infrastructure likely would require support from a major manufacturer of BEVs but then could expand organically.
“People who have electric vehicles will have this incentive of selling charge and earning extra money — these two things will work in parallel to grow this idea,” he said.
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Contact: Dan Rolf, School of Architecture & Design, 785-864-3027, [email protected], @ArcD_KU
School of Architecture & Design announces 2021 alumni awards
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design has announced the recipients of the 2021 KU Architecture & Design Alumni Awards.
Established in 2017, the KU Architecture & Design Alumni Awards recognize graduates of the architecture and design departments at KU who have demonstrated leadership and made a significant contribution to the design professions. Awards are given in three categories: Distinguished Alumni, Distinguished Alumni Service and Young Architect/Designer. Additionally, this year, two architecture graduates, Bryan Gross and Dennis Wellner, were honored with Lifetime Achievement Awards.
“I am delighted to present this year’s winners of the KU Architecture & Design Alumni Awards,” said Mahbub Rashid, dean of the School of Architecture & Design. “As designers, these individuals exemplify how best to take care of our built environment, planet and future. As a school, we are very proud of their achievements. They provide us with a superior model to follow.”
Distinguished Alumni Awards
Mariah Meyer is president and CEO of BRR Architecture. A 2002 architecture graduate, Meyer is the first woman to be named to this position in the firm’s 59-year history. Since joining BRR in 2010, she has managed multifunctional, award-winning client teams focusing on projects in hospitality and corporate environments. The work spanned across 28 states, and her team’s headcount increased by 81%. Beyond leading strategic planning and growth at BRR, Meyer is an engaged advocate for architectural education. She is a member of the KU School of Architecture & Design’s Professional Advisory Board and is actively involved in KU Women in Design, where she mentors aspiring young architects.
Sarah Mason Sears is the founder, principal and creative director at S Design Inc. An award-winning branding and design practitioner, Sears has led projects for some of the world’s most iconic brands, civic and state organizations, and nonprofits. Since graduating from KU in 1992 with bachelor’s degrees in visual communication design and illustration, she has won over 120 design awards and has been honored as an AIGA Fellow.
Distinguished Alumni Service Award
David Broz is principal-architect at Gensler. After graduating in 1997 with honors, he built a successful architecture career that was guided by an ethical and community-centered approach to design. He has initiated and led multiple volunteer and pro bono community masterplans that are reshaping Chicago’s downtown and redefining urban placemaking standards. An advocate for design that is created in collaboration with community organizations and individual citizens, Broz leverages his architectural training to unite people, places and ideas. His passion for identifying and communicating practical, solutions-based strategies has been a major catalyst for revitalizing urban spaces and advancing the American Institute of Architect’s Principles of Livable Communities. Since 2011, Broz has been involved with the Chicago Loop Alliance (CLA), a nonprofit dedicated to attracting people and investment to the Loop in Chicago’s downtown. In 2015, Broz became the first architect to serve as CLA’s chair of the board and brought a new community-focused approach to the role.
Young Architect/Designer Awards
Jon Gripka is an associate and director of design at BRR Architecture. He works with multiple teams across the firm to provide high-level design services for grocery, retail, hospitality, industrial and office environments projects. Throughout his career, Gripka has been critical to the continual evolution and implementation of the BRR design process, and he has played an essential role in developing the firm’s brand standards for conceptual design presentations. Gripka earned a bachelor’s degree in architectural studies in 2008 and a master’s in architecture in 2011.
Michael MacGregor is the co-founder of MODUS Architecture, where he leads the firm’s project management and project delivery. As technical designer, project manager and firm partner, he has led projects to success and allowed his organizations to position themselves as industry leaders. MacGregor earned master’s degrees in architecture and business administration in 2013.
Callum Vierthaler is director of innovation at Pulse Design Group and lecturer in the Department of Architecture at KU. Since graduating summa cum laude with a master’s in architecture in 2017, he has demonstrated leadership as an innovative practitioner with unique skills in the application of virtual reality to design. As an educator, Vierthaler has spearheaded the School of Architecture & Design’s efforts to integrate virtual reality technology into the traditional design studio.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Bryan Gross is an architect and principal at Helix. After graduating with bachelor’s degrees in environmental design in 1980 and architecture in 1982, Gross has led award-winning projects that have improved neighborhoods, transformed college campuses and advanced sustainable architectural design. Early in his career he worked on prominent projects such as the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City and the U.S. embassy in Caracas, Venezuela. Later projects in Kansas City include the iconic stagehouse at Starlight Theatre, the masterplan and multiple buildings for the 18th & Vine historic jazz district, and multiple educational buildings. A passionate advocate for ecologically responsive and responsible architecture, Gross has led the design of multiple LEED Gold and LEED Platinum projects, one of which was honored with a prestigious Top Ten Green Project award by the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment.
Dennis Wellner is founder and senior principal at Populous. After earning bachelor’s degrees in architecture and environmental design from KU in 1973, he went on to become one of the most widely acclaimed football stadium designers in the United States and helped build a practice with global reach. His visionary approach to stadium design is responsible for creating some of the first NFL stadiums to incorporate extensive amenities for fans. The success of these projects showed how stadiums could work as immersive entertainment experiences rather than just spectator seating and helped to revolutionize sports stadium design throughout the world. His portfolio of award-winning projects includes stadiums in Kansas City, Foxborough, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Charlotte, Miami, Tampa, Houston, and Cleveland. Wellner was an original founding principal of HOK Sport in 1983, which became the global design firm Populous in 2009. He has directly impacted more than $10 billion in sports venue design and construction across the United States. Populous’ global footprint now includes over 700 associates working on over 3,000 projects with venues in 34 countries that have attracted over 520 million visitors in the past 10 years.
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Contact: Sydney Halas, School of Law, 785-864-2338, [email protected], @kulawschool
KU Law’s moot court program ranked 14th in the nation
LAWRENCE – The University of Kansas School of Law’s moot court program is 14th in the nation, according to rankings published recently by the University of Houston Law Center.
The rankings are determined by a point system, awarding point values in various categories for successes in regional and national competitions throughout the year. KU Law has earned enough points to rank in the top 30 teams nationally for the past seven years.
“Our students were amazing this season,” said Pamela Keller, clinical professor of law and director of KU’s moot court program. “They all worked incredibly hard in their individual competitions. We had more teams advance to the upper, elite rounds of competitions than ever before.”
Keller gives special recognition to 3L moot court members whose commitment to the team approach made all the difference.
“They understand that by doing practice rounds with other council members and mentoring students in our 2L in-house competition that they not only advance their own advocacy skills but also make our program stronger as a whole,” Keller said.
For the second year in a row, a KU Law team won the top prize at the National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court Competition. Emily Depew and Douglas Bartel celebrated their win with fellow teammates and their coaches, KU Law alumni Nancy Musick, L’19, Chris Carey, L’19, and Judge Shawn Watts, lecturer in law.
“Our success at the competition is a testament to the strength of the entire KU NNALSA team and the broader KU Law community,” Bartel said. “The support of our team members, coaches, professors and colleagues carried us across the finish line. While working through winter break and each weekend in January and February is tiring — as are the six rounds of the actual competition — I would do it again in a heartbeat.”
KU Law’s overall performance this season, earning the final rank of 14, secured a spot in the 2023 Hunton Andrews Kurth Moot Court National Championship, an invitation-only event for the top 16 ranked moot court teams in the country.
Other highlights from the 2021-2022 competition season are available online.
Most KU Law students who compete in national tournaments were the top finishers in the school’s in-house moot court competition during their second year of law school. Competitions generally consist of writing an appellate brief and presenting a mock oral argument before an appellate court.
Several KU Law teams also competed in national competitions in mock trial and transactional law.
Past KU Law moot court rankings by the University of Houston Law Center:
1. 2022: No. 14
2. 2021: No. 13
3. 2020: No. 22
4. 2019: No. 14
5. 2018: No. 26
6. 2017: No. 17
7. 2016: No. 19.
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Don’t miss new episodes of “When Experts Attack!,”
a KU News Service podcast hosted by Kansas Public Radio.
https://kansaspublicradio.org/when-experts-attack
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Contact: Brad Stauffer, School of Pharmacy, [email protected], @KUPharmacy
KU professor selected for American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Fellows Program
LAWRENCE — Crystal Burkhardt, clinical professor in the University of Kansas School of Pharmacy, has been selected to participate in the Academic Leadership Fellows Program, coordinated by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Burkhardt is one of 35 aspiring leaders nationally selected for AACP’s yearlong fellows program. KU Pharmacy Dean Ronald Ragan will serve as Burkhardt’s local mentor.
“Crystal’s experience in the Veterans Affairs pharmacy system and her many years of teaching pharmacy in higher education give her a professional and academic balance that serve our students well,” Ragan said. “She has a bright future as an academic leader, and we’re excited that she’ll have the opportunity to build her leadership skills and network with colleagues in the Academic Leadership Fellows Program.”
According to AACP, the program provides content on how to lead change, conflict management, diversity, equity and inclusion in leadership development, and advocacy. Fellows meet four times throughout the year, beginning in September. In addition to leadership training, participants explore critical issues in pharmacy and higher education, discuss management and administrative challenges, work on team building, and interact with national and international pharmacy and higher education leaders. It’s also an opportunity to build relationships with peers and colleagues in other institutions and expand relationships in home institutions.
“Being selected to participate in AACP’s Academic Leadership Fellows Program is a true honor,” said Burkhardt, who is in her 11th year at KU. “I believe the program will allow me to further develop my leadership style and approach, understand how I can utilize my strengths at the KU School of Pharmacy and develop lasting relationships through the network of colleagues in the wider circles of academic pharmacy.”
Burkhardt specializes in geriatric pharmacy, which is also the focus of her research efforts. Her primary practice site is the Landon Center on Aging, located on the KU School of Medicine campus in Kansas City. She earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree and MBA at Drake University. She is originally from Pickrell, Nebraska.
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