Associate Professor
Department: Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
University System: Montana State University - Bozeman
Website(s): http://www.montana.edu/rlarson/
Professional Summary:
Director of the Montana Wind Applications Center (WAC), one of 11 WAC's located at universities throughout the U.S. with primary funding through the U.S. DOE National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL.) The WAC mission statement includes education, outreach, and support for wind energy topics in Montana and nationally. I created and serve as Instructor for the ETME470 Alternative Energy Applications course which includes coverage of a range of renewable energy topics for upper-division students in various Engineering disciplines. I remain active in Snow Science and Avalanche research, primarily working to develop sensor systems and to field real-time sensors for in-situ measurement and high-speed acquisition of dynamic parameters affecting snow-pack morphology, including structure, temperature, vibration, motion, etc. I continue to be involved in other sensing and instrumentation projects and research through organizations such as the Western Transportation Institute and other College of Engineering and MSU entities.