Electricity, Energy, Consumption, & Waste

 

Why we do it?

  1. Share

  2. Educate

  3. Inspire


What is it?

We offer 30-75 minute workshops on each of seven topics in the world of energy and electronics.   If you are a teacher, a parent, or other adult interested in bringing your group to one or more of these workshops on the UW Seattle campus, please contact us at denisew (at) uw.edu.


Who’s it for?

  1. 1.Elementary School students

  2. 2.Non-engineering college students

  3. 3.Adult learners of all Ages

  4. 4.Middle & High School students

  5. 5.Engineers outside of EE


What’s in a Workshop?

  1. 1.Fundamental Science

  2. 2.Connections between Facts

  3. 3.Interactive Activities

  4. 4.Hands-on Experiments


Questions?

Contact Prof. Denise Wilson at:

denisew (at) uw.edu


Learning Experiences:

(See descriptions at right for

more information)




The Science:


The Many Speeds of Electricity




The Many Faces  of Electricity




Making

Electricity






The Impacts:


Energy

Consumption




Electronic

Waste





The Opportunities:


Careers in Electrical Engineering



Service in Electrical Engineering



Research in Electrical Engineering


 

The Science (Three Workshops):

The Many Speeds of Electricity:  From Stillness to Motion

We notice electricity most when it is moving, when a charge is striving to get from one place to the next, if only to travel around a loop and then do it again.   In fact, it is electricity in motion that serves our world, by powering our lights, our heaters, our refrigerators, our televisions, and all manner of consumer electronics.  But, electricity that sits still or is static is also around us… Here, we’ll take a hard look at static electricity and understand what it takes to get electrons moving.  (40-50 minutes)


The Many Faces of Electricity:  From AC to DC

Electricity looks different in different places.   Whether expressed as voltage or current, electricity puts on a different face at the far-away, central power plant, along the power cables near your house, deep inside your refrigerator, or flowing through your mobile phone.  Why does it have so many different ways of being?   What do AC and DC mean?  Why is AC used in some places and DC in others?   Here, we’ll take a look at the many different forms and faces of electricity and try to understand why it moves differently depending on how it was generated and how it is used.  (45-60 minutes)


Making Electricity:  From Coal to Solar

In days when eco-friendly is in and fossil-use is out, it’s easy to think there are two forms of energy to feed our electricity needs:  renewable and non-renewable.   It gets much more complicated than that, though.   We’ll take a look at some of the major ways to produce or generate electricity including coal, nuclear, solar, hydroelectric, and wind.  We’ll also share some insider tips into which combinations of what types of electricity generation make the most sense in different parts of the world, including the Pacific Northwest. (60-75 minutes)   


The Impacts (Two Workshops):

Consuming Electricity:  From iPhones to Refrigerators

If you were to take a look around your living room, would you be able to identify that which consumes the most energy?  In your kitchen?  In your bedroom?   Do you see energy saver labels on any of your appliances at home?  What does the label really mean?  Here, we’ll look at how electricity is consumed in the United States with a particular eye toward where electricity demand can be best reduced.    Does the United States consume more than any other country in the world?  Does it matter?  (40-50 minutes)


Disposing of Electronics:  From iPhones to Refrigerators

Americans love their electronics and appliances.  From TV sets to refrigerators.  From video games to washing machines.  From mobile phones to laptop computers.  From clothes dryers to home heating.   While the use of these electronics and appliances have improved the quality of our lives, where do they go when they expire?  Is electronic waste any better or worse than other forms of waste?  Here, we’ll explore what happens to the many different types of electronics we buy, use, and eventually stop using.  (60-75 minutes) 


The Opportunities (Three Workshops):

Careers in Electrical Engineering: 

When we think of electrical engineering, we may think of building electronic circuits, writing programs, or designing power plants.  Many think of electrical engineers as professionals who sit at their desk all day, in a windowless cube, starting incessantly at a computer or worse.  In reality, electrical engineering involves such a broad range of topics and potential careers, that it is impossible to describe in one or two sentences.   Here, we look beyond the stereotypes, beyond what we typically view as “What electrical engineers do” to provide a broad overview of what an electrical engineering might do in the corporate world or in the public domain.  (30-40 minutes)


Service in Electrical Engineering: 

Electrical engineering doesn’t have to stop at the end of a workday or be done only with a paycheck in mind or be accessible only to those with a degree in electrical engineering.   There are a wide range of opportunities to serve society outside the workplace in electrical engineering, from serving local communities to empowering impoverished communities in developing countries. Here, we will look at the world of engineering service through such organizations as Engineers without Borders and the Peace Corps.  (30-45 minutes)


Research in Electrical Engineering: 

What’s hot?  What’s not?  What does the next generation of electronics and energy look like?  Here, we’ll take a look at exciting new research directions at the University of Washington and other institutions of higher education and explore what research in engineering actually looks like in the daily life of engineering researchers.   (60-75 minutes)


UW Summer Youth Camp (click here)

Have you ever wondered where a cell phone comes from? Where it goes when it dies? What happens in between? Join us as we look into the life and times of a typical smart phone. We follow our phone from conception where raw materials are collected to manufacture it, to the very end, where the corpse is dismantled, recycled, and buried. For more information, please click here

University of Washington  |  College of Engineering  |  Electrical Engineering


Contact us:

Professor Denise Wilson

Department of Electrical Engineering

University of Washington

Seattle, Washington 98195-2500

206-221-5238;  denisew (at) uw.edu

What do we do?

Energy and Electronics are a major part of our world and our quality of life. Understanding how to produce energy and design electronics for generations to come requires not only a basic scientific understanding of what electrons do and why they do it, but also a wider, bigger view of the many impacts that energy and electronics have on our growing world.  In reaching out to the community, our goal is to teach on topics of electricity and energy and their impacts in a way that is understandable and appealing to everyone from elementary school age to retirement.