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CORVALLIS - Researchers and students at Oregon State University will display a wide range of projects that involve sustainable technology engineering at the first annual Sustainable Engineering Expo on Monday, May 3.

Among the projects featured at the expo will be "green" clean-burning fuel biodiesel, wind power generation, fuel cells powered by landfill emissions, harnessing energy from ocean waves, and other OSU-based sustainable technology research. The event is free and open to the public and takes place at LaSells Stewart Center from 1 to 4:30 p.m.

"The objective is to recognize the existing sustainable engineering research projects and expertise here at OSU, and to explore new opportunities for OSU faculty and students to collaborate and make additional contributions in this rapidly growing field," said Ken Williamson, co-director of the Center for Water and Environmental Sustainability and head of the OSU Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering.

OSU is uniquely positioned to become a national leader in sustainable engineering for several reasons, Williamson said.

"We have world-class programs in agriculture, oceanography, engineering, forestry, and other fields, we're located in the heart of the environmentally-aware Pacific Northwest, and our reputation for highly collaborative research is gaining national attention," Williamson said. "OSU has the opportunity to become the go-to place for people interested in studying sustainability and sustainable engineering."

Recently, OSU engineering students have developed a wide range of sustainable technology, from manufacturing biodiesel from waste cooking oil to harnessing electricity from streams and creeks using submersible micro-hydro turbines the size of house fans.

Oregon's first signature research center, the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, will open on the Hewlett-Packard campus in late May. ONAMI technologies should provide even more opportunities for developing sustainable engineering products, Williamson said.

The event is sponsored by the OSU College of Engineering and the Center for Water and Environmental Sustainability. Prizes will be awarded to the students with the most innovative and sustainable ideas.