Utah Grad Students Report on Device To Convert Waste Heat Into Renewable Energy

By Deborah Ramsay
Deseret Morning News
Four graduate students from the Utah of University physics department presented research findings for a promising thermoacoustic device capable of converting wasted heat into a renewable energy source during this year's Acoustical Society of America Conference in Salt Lake City Friday.
The devices, some smaller than a penny, are able to remove waste heat from just about any heat-producing source, convert the heat into a sound wave and then create energy to be used to power electrical equipment.
Students estimated that any practical application of their research is two to five years in the future, but they were excited about its potential to harness a source of energy that right now is lost.
"I see this being used for a wide variety of applications on the university campus," said U. student Brenna Gillman. "The campus nuclear power plant and hot-water-heating system produce wasted heat. If we placed 100 or 1,000 devices in an array on the hot side of the heat sources we could harness the heat and use it to produce more power."


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