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“Faculty and student researchers are able to work with emerging technologies such as hydrogen production, gas compression, and heat exchange and dispensing.”– Michael Dray, Technical Operations ManagerNATIONAL FUNDING SUPPORTS BIOMEDICAL STUDENTS’ RESEARCHBiomedical students presented the results of their 2014 study, Biomechanical Tolerance of Human Tibia Models under Dynamic Latero-Medial Bending, funded through the National Science Foundation’s Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation program. LSAMP is a comprehensive, statewide program dedicated to broadening participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.“The station opening signiies the potential Cal State L.A. has to develop hydrogen fueling technology in the state and beyond,” says Blekhman, the station’s technical director. “This achievement is why the University was selected as an afiliate member in the prestigious California Fuel Cell Partnership.”The station also plays a key role in research designed to cost-effectively help improve the distribution of hydrogen from the point of production to the point of end-use. To fund that research, Blekhman has led initiatives to garner support from the U. S. Department of Energy and California Energy Commission. As a result, the hydrogen facility provides key research data on fueling performance and station operations to the U.S. Department of Energy and National Laboratories, as well as to state agencies such as the California Energy Commission and California Air Resources Board.By collecting hydrogen refueling architecture data, the station also helps hydrogen fueling equipment manufacturers improve designs for higher eficiencies. “The next step is to engage the facility in larger demonstration projects for the next generation of fuel cell transportation,” adds Blekhman.The facility provides a living-laboratory environment that involves students in applied research with sustainable energy systems. While two graduate students are engaged in learning plant operations, primary research under way at the facility includes station performance testing.In addition, the Power, Energy, and Transportation Technology Program offers several courses speciic to hydrogen stations, such as Fuel Cell Applications and Hybrid and Electric Vehicles.Sparking international interest, visitors from Korea, Japan, China, Russia, Germany, and Scotland have toured the facility in the last six months. In addition, Audi, Honda, Hyundai, General Motors, Mercedes Benz, and Volkswagen have all fueled prototype hydrogen vehicles at the station.InSights | 5both professors in the Technology Department, have spearheaded the effort to raise funding for the facility and secure collaborations on campus, with government agencies, and with industry partners.The Hydrogen Fueling and Research Facility is an important part of Cal State L.A.’s effort to become a leader in teaching sustainable energy systems and to engage in research that can mitigate the nation’s fossil fuel energy dependence.The campus boasts electrical vehicle charging infrastructure and photovoltaic installation and is home to the EcoCAR 3 team.“We’re very proud of this initiative, one which much larger universities have been unable to establish,” says Dray.The Hydrogen Fueling Station and Research Facility is made possible by funding from the California Air Resources Board, U.S. Departmentof Energy, South Coast Air Quality Management District, Mobile Sources Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee, The Ahmanson Foundation, The Kenneth Brasher (’62) Trust, Fran Morris-Rosman and Richard Rosman, Cal State L.A., and the Automobile Club of Southern California. •