WindHawks Swoop Into Collegiate Wind Competition

04/29/2025
By Ed Brennen

The week leading up to Commencement is typically a whirlwind of celebratory group outings, brunches and award dinners.

For senior members of the , UMass Lowell鈥檚 Wind Energy Innovation Club, it will be a memorable week for a very different reason this year.

The WindHawks are competing against 11 other schools, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Penn State and Johns Hopkins, in the final round of the U.S. Department of Energy鈥檚 12th annual听, scheduled for May 12-15 at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The contest challenges undergraduate teams to design and build a prototype wind turbine, which they put to the test at the competition. Teams must also develop a 20-page site plan for a hypothetical, floating offshore wind farm and show how they use social media and local media coverage to promote their work and raise awareness about wind energy.

This is the fourth time the WindHawks are competing in the finals, but the first since 2016, when they took听second place. The team attended the final round, which is called Phase 3, as a 鈥渓earn-along鈥� team the past two years.

鈥淭his time we鈥檙e competing as a big dog, which is a very big accomplishment,鈥� says WindHawks President Sarvesh Handa 鈥�24, who completed bachelor degrees in听electrical engineering听and听computer science听last December and stayed on with the team this semester to help prepare for the finals.

鈥淚鈥檓 excited that we get to be part of Phase 3 this year,鈥� says听Driss Bourzgui, a senior听electrical engineering听major from Pittsfield, Massachusetts, who serves as the team鈥檚 electrical lead. 鈥淭he competition is pretty complex 鈥� there鈥檚 a lot of working systems 鈥� and we鈥檙e going up against some stiff competition. But I think we鈥檝e come a long way.鈥澨�

The WindHawks were among 35 teams chosen from a pool of Phase 1 applicants last fall. For Phase 2, they submitted written reports and a video detailing their proposed solutions. In January, the WindHawks learned that they were one of the 12 Phase 2 winners, earning a $15,000 cash prize that will help pay their way to Colorado.

The WindHawks, who plan to send about 15 members to the finals, also receive financial support from UML鈥檚听Center for Energy Innovation. They work on their prototype in the听Lawrence Lin MakerSpace听and conduct testing in the 200-mph wind tunnel in Ball Hall.

The team is advised by adjunct faculty member听Stephen Johnson听鈥�21, a retired manager of the advanced manufacturing team for General Electric鈥檚 wind energy business.

鈥淚t鈥檚 great to see students getting involved in the development of wind turbines and learning about the industry,鈥� says Johnson, who holds a听Ph.D. in mechanical engineering听from UML 鈥� along with 23 wind turbine patents.听

Since this year鈥檚 challenge involves creating a floating offshore wind farm, the prototype must be attached to a floating 鈥渟par鈥� foundation and tested in a pool.听

鈥淚t can鈥檛 tilt more than 15 degrees, so the real focus of this year鈥檚 competition has been building the floating platform,鈥� says Evan Anctil, a senior mechanical engineering major from Westford, Massachusetts, who is working on the turbine blade鈥檚 pitch mechanism.

Equally challenging, Anctil says, has been coordinating the efforts of so many busy students on the team.

鈥淭he collaboration has been a major learning experience,鈥� says Anctil, who plans to continue at UML for his master鈥檚 degree.

In addition to working on the prototype, senior mechanical engineering major Adam Freedman leads the project development team for the wind farm proposal.

鈥淚鈥檝e never done financial analysis work or logistics and operations before, so it鈥檚 been a good experience,鈥� says Freedman, who has learned business concepts by attending webinars hosted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a co-sponsor of the competition.

鈥淟earning about the business behind a project like this has definitely given me a more holistic view that will help me when I鈥檓 in industry,鈥� says Freedman, who is from Hanover, Massachusetts.

Emma Mangino, a junior business major from Natick, Massachusetts, serves as the team鈥檚 social media manager. She posts updates about the team鈥檚 progress and news about the wind industry on the team鈥檚听听page and听听account.

The WindHawks also include Rory MacDuff (mechanical lead), Timothy Glowik, Dawson Durgin, Wil Scribner, Caio Carrareto Da Silva, Adam Lwanga, Timothy McCue, Andrew Comeau, Patrick Conlan, Mahmoud Shahin, Tahani Alenzei and Joel Aweh.

Engineering graduate students Matthew Skirzenski 鈥�23, Paige Geraldo 鈥�23 and Anthony Mangino 鈥�24 serve as advisors.

Handa became interested in renewable energy while competing in the听Rist DifferenceMaker听program as a first-year student, when his MissionHydro team's solution to harness hydrogen energy won the $4,000 Commitment to a Sustainable Environment prize at the 2020 Idea Challenge. He joined the WindHawks as a junior.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a great experience,鈥� says Handa, who notes that most of the seniors on the team use the wind turbine for their听Industrial Capstone Senior Design听projects. 鈥淵ou get to network with industry experts at the competition and learn about what kind of career you can pursue.鈥�

Aweh, a senior electrical engineering major originally from Cameroon, looks forward to discussing the future of renewable energy with fellow competitors in Colorado before returning to Lowell for Commencement.

鈥淚鈥檓 more than excited to meet new people from different backgrounds and institutions, people who have different levels of experience,鈥� says Aweh, who plans to continue at UML for a master鈥檚 degree in energy engineering. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a feeling that you cannot buy. It鈥檚 priceless.鈥�