Grand Challenge
Faculty Grant Spotlight: Mechanical Engineering Department and EOA Grant
Rural Reimagined recognizes PI Dr. Pingen Chen and CO-PIs Drs. Vahid Motevalli, Stephen
Canfield, Olorunfemi Ojo, and Indranil Bhattacharya for being awarded a $779,823 rural-based
grant from the U.S. Dept. Of Energy for developing an EV demonstration testbed in
the Upper Cumberland region. Although electric vehicles (EVs) are promising solutions
for rural mobility due to the lower fuel cost and lower maintenance cost, rural and
economically distressed areas are facing numerous challenges in adopting EVs due to
low population density, lack of EV charging infrastructures, lack of experience, and
low consumer awareness.
The project’s EV demonstration testbed will provide the experience, research, demonstration and educational opportunities needed to address EV adoption issues in addition to reducing transportation cost, fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, and improving the fuel diversity, environmental quality and public health in rural areas. Wings up!
