WVU Tech receives $75,000 grant from Appalachian Electric Power

Back (Left to Right) : Christy Bragg '13, Project Design Supervisor with AEP; Chad Booth, current Electrical Engineering student; Nick Barker '21, AEP employee; Caleb Wells, current Electrical Engineering student; Dr. Aboubakr Salem, Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

West Virginia University Institute of Technology (WVU Tech) received a $75,000 American Electric Power (AEP) Foundation grant, at the request of Appalachian Power, to help provide CYME engineering software to students. A check was presented on campus on Friday, January 13, 2023. WVU Tech requested financial support from the AEP Foundation to purchase the Eaton Cooper CYME software package, which is typically used for primary power flow and short circuit analysis at many retail energy providers, including AEP. In turn, students will be more familiar, better trained and proficient with the tools they will use after graduation and prepared for real-world job opportunities. The Electrical and Computer Engineering Department (ECE) offers a robust Electrical Energy Systems area of emphasis, and adding the CYME software will enhance course content. By acquiring the CYME software, students will work with more realistic systems, like the ones that AEP manages. As students develop skills with the software, Tech hopes to have related opportunities with AEP and student involvement in projects that will enhance the learning experience.

Dr. Kenan Hatipoglu, Chair and Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at WVU Tech, thanks AEP for their generous gift.

“I would like to thank the AEP Foundation for providing this opportunity to WVU Tech to enhance our university-industry partnership. It is a great example of how industry and academia should work together to improve the quality of life for students, faculty and ultimately for the people in our state. We are looking forward to educating our students to tackle the existing problems we face every day with these advanced tools and find solutions that will benefit society. The students and engineering faculty at WVU Tech will benefit from this donation greatly,” he says.

Ronn Robinson, External Affairs Manager for Appalachian Power, says that AEP has benefitted from Tech graduates in the past and hopes to continue to do so.

“The American Electric Power Foundation and Appalachian Power are pleased to provide $75,000 to West Virginia University Institute of Technology in support of its engineering program and students. Through this grant, Tech will acquire state-of-the-art engineering software that will not only benefit students as they undertake their studies but also upon graduation as they utilize the same software with many corporations and engineering firms,” Robinson says.

Dr. Tamara Floyd Smith, Dean of the Leonard C. Nelson College of Engineering and Sciences, extends her gratitude to Appalachian Power and the faculty at Tech who helped secure this grant.

“Thank you to the AEP Foundation for this generous donation and to the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Chair, Dr. Kenan Hatipoglu, for cultivating it. The donation provides software that will enhance the student learning experience in immeasurable ways. We are truly grateful to everyone who made this possible,” says Smith.