Tauber Student Earns International Energy Award

Graduate engineer Evan Quasney takes 2nd Place at Vestas Competition in Denmark

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- What are friends for? Apparently, they’re for setting you on a path toward a career of fulfillment and high achievement. At least that’s what Alanya Schofield did when she emailed her classmate, Evan Quasney, with information on Winnovation, a competition sponsored by Vestas, the leading global supplier of wind power solutions, headquartered in Randers, Denmark. Had she not hit send, Quasney wouldn’t have been in position to earn the second place overall award at the prestigious event -- nor would his future career prospects look the same.

With only 10 days to prepare, Quasney, a student in the Tauber Institute for Global Operations completing a Master’s degree in Energy Systems Engineering, lost no time (but quite a bit of sleep) getting ready for the engineering case competition which focused on long-term wind energy storage for use throughout the year. Already the recipient of many scholarly awards and honors, Quasney is used to meeting deadlines and accomplishing goals in his work as an engineer.

Upon arrival in Copenhagen on Dec. 4, contestants spent the evening at a networking reception. The following morning, the competition started with individuals making presentations in rapid succession - engineering students and business students presented simultaneously in different rooms to different panels of judges. Quasney’s proposal was a system-level solution that matched different storage techniques with different electricity demand patterns. His recommendation to use integrated, high-discharge mechanical flywheels for daily peak demand was unique among the contestants, something he felt distinguished himself enough to qualify for in the top 12 finalists.

The top 12 business students and engineers were then paired into teams and given a new case assignment to store wind energy at night for sale during the day. Quasney said that his technical skills and individual presentation were his ‘ticket to the dance’, but the real challenge was arguing for a completely different problem selected by the judges with a teammate he’d never met before. “That’s when my experience and previous course work came into play. I think it paid off,” he said. “Because of the technical specifics of the case, we quickly decided to use the Flywheel Storage idea, and my teammate, an MBA student from Colombia University, drew up a marketing strategy.”

“My experience with advanced engineering systems gave me the technical tools I needed to compete, and I think the systematic approach that is stressed in my courses also gave me the broader view of how the processes work together,” he said.

“The second component that helped me was my Global Operations class with Prof. Roman Kapuscinski. I really think it gave me the chance to use a non-engineering lens with which to look at the problems presented to me. Anyone can take a pie in the sky solution to a problem but as soon as the realistic challenges of supply chain, manufacturing, and other factors come into play, it can fall apart. I try to anticipate those challenges up front,” said Quasney. His efforts put him at number two among the 31 finalists from around the globe.

Since the competition, Quasney said he is considering future employment opportunities with Vestas, as he sees his career goals and those of Vestas as being closely aligned. In fact, Quasney barely had heard of Vestas before the competition. “I’ll be able to look back and say that my friend Alanya’s email started me on this really exciting path,” he said.

He is already seeing that the honor and the experience in Denmark will definitely give him a leg up regarding career opportunities. “I left a job to return to school to pursue energy systems engineering. I believe that the energy market is going to become incredibly important in the next several years – and I’ve staked my career on it. This competition and the honor are a link in the chain of my future,” he said.

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By Nancy Davis

Tauber Institute Media Contact: bakerpa@umich.edu