Two Gifts Fund Fellowships for UB’s Energy Systems Institute

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Bergquist Corp. and Custom Electronics, Inc. are betting on the brainpower of students by giving gifts to the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences to fund fellowships for students affiliated with its Energy Systems Institute.

Mark H. Karwan, Ph.D., dean of the school, said the fellowships "reflect true corporate leadership in helping to develop a stronger industry/university partnership." He added: "These companies are providing the margin of excellence required for today's engineers by helping them obtain a quality graduate education."

W. James Sarjeant, Ph.D., professor of electrical engineering and director of the SEAS Energy Systems Institute, formerly known as the High Power Electronics Institute, said the gifts will strengthen UB's graduate-engineering programs by supporting recruitment of talented individuals who will add depth to the school's research efforts.

"These students are willing to ask questions of 'how' and 'why' that may challenge our assumptions, they are thorough in following up on the details, both theoretical and experimental, and with their unbridled enthusiasm, they make the project fun."

Bergquist is giving $35,000 a year for up to six years in support of a doctoral student. The first Bergquist Doctoral Fellow in Energy Systems is electrical engineering student Jennifer Zirnheld of Buffalo.

Praising Sarjeant and the institute, Herb Fick, senior applications scientist at Bergquist, added: "We do not know of any other school with the facility the University at Buffalo has to study the phenomenon of high-voltage stress on dielectric material. So we, with the energy-systems group at UB, are developing an engineering community that is

better able to deal with the mechanisms of durability and failure common to the kinds of materials we manufacture and fabricate."

Bergquist, based in Minneapolis, is a world leader in the manufacture of thermally conductive electrical-isolation interface materials.

John Bowers, engineering manager at Custom, said this is the first time his company has partnered with a university by offering a fellowship, but the company felt that UB and its Energy Systems Institute offered a great opportunity. Custom is giving $21,000 a year for up to three years to support a master's-level fellowship.

"UB gains corporate support for its students and university research projects," Bowers said, "while we gain access to information about high-voltage capacitors that we couldn't afford to research ourselves as a small company in New York State."

"Besides," Bowers added, "We are hoping to hire this well-trained engineer when he graduates." Harold Gill, of Rochester, is the first Custom Electronics Master Fellow in Energy Systems.

Custom Electronics is a privately held company in Oneonta that manufactures high-voltage capacitors and high-voltage electronic modules for aerospace and defense applications.

Both fellowship students are working with Sarjeant in his research on how electronic systems age and how advanced energy systems can become more efficient. Sarjeant said he is taking a very different approach to managing reliability in energy systems, which is critical in the aerospace and defense industries.

Sarjeant said UB's Energy Systems Institute initially sought funding from government agencies, but feels now is the time for corporate partnerships.

"Like Custom, many of the companies want to hire our engineering graduates," Sarjeant said. "They tell me that they are impressed by the quality of the technical training and by how the UB program prepares its students to be leaders in both technical and management aspects of engineering."

For information about how you can help support the University at Buffalo, go to http://www.buffalo.edu/giving