Blog Elements

Durango-based Fort Lewis College celebrated the opening of the new Geosciences, Physics and Engineering (GPE) building. La Plata Electric Association and its members helped fund this building through an educational and special projects grant of $200,000 from Unclaimed Capital Credits.

LPEA staff engineer, Rachel Schur-Wagner says that Fort Lewis is cutting-edge and the opening of the GPE “Is providing incredible opportunities in engineering and the sciences.” Labs in the GPE are filled with the latest in high-tech equipment and spaces for students to be creative. Instead of listening to mass lectures, students work in small collaborative groups.

Dan Harms, LPEA manager of rates, technology and energy management says that Fort Lewis is a “great value to local companies” now that they can “home-grow” their own future employees in Durango.

Not only is the GPE building cutting edge, but with the new three-story building, Fort Lewis is able to expand its student base for their geosciences, physics, and engineering programs.

LPEA takes pride in the fact that they and their members had a hand in helping make this a reality for their local Durango community.

Projects focused on electricity were honored at the Colorado Science and Engineering Fair thanks to CREA and the financial support of CoBank. The 62nd annual statewide science fair at Colorado State University in Fort Collins included more than 300 projects created by students in grades 6 through 12 from across the state. As a sponsor of the EnergyWise Award, the Colorado Rural Electric Association was represented by Stuart Travis, a member of the CREA board from Y-W Electric in Akron. Travis served as the judge for the special EnergyWise Award, and as a former state science fair exhibitor himself, he enjoyed quizzing the students exhibiting at this year’s fair and learning about their projects.

Winners this year are middle schooler Tate Schrock, a 7th grader at Arickaree School in Anton, and high school students Michelle Ren and Julianna O’Clair, who are 10th graders at Brush High School in Brush. Tate’s project was titled “H2 and O2 Generator Fabrication & PEM Fuel Cell Efficiency,” and it documented a successfully-built H2 and O2 generator that split water molecules to be used in a fuel cell as another way to create renewable energy.

Michelle and Julianna titled their project “Energy Production of Microbial Fuel Cells,” studying how microbes from the soil or wastewater can generate electricity and showed how adding a salt or sugar solution to the process increases output.

Both of these projects were awarded a special certificate and a $250 prize. The students will also be invited to exhibit their projects at the CREA Energy Innovations Summit in October.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

La Plata Electric Supports Fort Lewis’ New Cutting Edge GPE Building

Two EnergyWise Awards Presented at the Colorado Science Fair

La Plata Electric Supports Fort Lewis’ New Cutting Edge GPE Building

Two EnergyWise Awards Presented at the Colorado Science Fair

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

La Plata Electric Supports Fort Lewis’ New Cutting Edge GPE Building

Two EnergyWise Awards Presented at the Colorado Science Fair