As a mechanical engineering student, I am so excited to apply and see what I’ve learned in the classroom to large-scale, real-world examples.
In our pre-departure meetings, we discussed many of the energy companies we would have the opportunity to visit and learned about how they operate and their impact on Brazil. For example, we learned about the Itaipu Dam, which is a massive hydro-powered dam that powers all of Paraguay and a large portion of Brazil. We briefly discussed the physics and mechanics of how it operates, and I enjoyed being able to nerd-out due to my experience taking classes such as Fluids and other physics classes. We discussed the importance of the size of the reservoir so sufficient potential energy could convert to kinetic energy, a concept that has resurfaces often in class.
From a sustainability viewpoint, I am looking forward to learning more about no/low waste energy generation. Both the United States and Brazil have massive populations, but Brazil is able to emit significantly less CO2 than the US due to its focus on renewable energy. Brazil focuses on hydro, wind, and solar power while the US focuses on natural gas. I am interested in continuing to compare and contrast energy generation practices between the US and Brazil.
Swanson School of Engineering 