When Ophelia Loree ’25 MS came to the University of St. Thomas to pursue a master’s degree in electrical engineering, she was betting on a hands-on, practical education. Loree had no idea that within a year, she would help design a brand-new microgrid, and that she would do so in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Interested in a career in clean energy and grid modernization, Loree selected the School of Engineering for its emphasis on real-world problem-solving. Her recent work alongside fellow engineers and students at the St. Thomas Center for Microgrid Research (CMR) could soon bring cutting-edge microgrid technologies to American military installations around the world.
“Good engineers don’t just crunch numbers,” Loree said. “Good engineers see a problem and they come up with a creative solution to solve it, and that’s what I was able to do at St. Thomas.”
It’s not every day that a master’s student gets a chance to work on a cutting-edge, industry-grade microgrid. In fact, it’s nearly unheard of.
One of fewer than five academic research centers of its kind in North America, the St. Thomas Center for Microgrid Research stands alone as the only program to offer access to undergraduate and master’s level students.
But what is already an unparalleled experience is only getting stronger. Thanks to considerable private and government support, the Center for Microgrid Research is surging into a new era with a power-up totaling more than $20 million. The funds are fueling expanded student-focused research, a rapidly growing team of engineers, and soon, the construction of an additional industry-leading facility.
A bold vision
Since its founding in 2019, CMR has been housed primarily in the Facilities and Design Center on St. Thomas’ south campus. As part of a multiyear expansion, construction will begin in the coming months on a second purpose-built space right across the street.
The new 6,000-square-foot annex to Owens Science Hall (OWS) has been designed around the university’s second microgrid. The addition will give St. Thomas the capability to independently power most of south campus, including the recently opened Schoenecker Center for STEAM learning. A third microgrid is also planned for the near future and will power the under-construction Lee & Penny Anderson Arena.
The annex for OWS includes large roll-in bays, which will allow EVs of all kinds to drive into the facility and plug directly into the St. Thomas grid. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other industry partners are interested in using the bays to research how microgrids can communicate with emerging EV technologies.
“We’ve been bold enough to listen to what the needs are,” School of Engineering Dean Don Weinkauf said. “We certainly have been excited to tell our story about our own abilities, but more importantly we’ve been listening to the needs of our partners, and that’s where good things can happen.”
Part of the funding for the expansion has come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who awarded St. Thomas a contract worth $11 million dollars through a direct congressional appropriation. The state of Minnesota has also invested heavily with more than $10 million through the Renewable Development Account program. Industry partners are lending their financial backing as well for both applied research and workforce development – Xcel Energy has been a supporter since funding for the first St. Thomas microgrid was secured in 2015.
With microgrids still a relative novelty in and outside of the academic world, Dr. Mahmoud Kabalan, founding director of the center, says it’s easy to see why their work is in such high demand.
“The applied research and testing, that we’re focusing on right now, is answering a lot of questions on how microgrids can be built and utilized,” Kabalan said. “This isn’t technology that will be applicable 10, 20 years down the road. This is work that is challenging the status quo and, with a little imagination and creativity on our end, is headed into the real world to improve our grid’s resiliency.”
Big advantages of micro
For the U.S. Department of Defense, microgrid technologies present a new level of resiliency. It’s why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working to install a microgrid on every military installation around the world by 2035.
At their most basic level, microgrids are small-scale electrical networks that operate independently or connect to a larger power system. They offer perhaps their greatest value during crisis or emergency situations, where – running in “island” mode – they can provide localized energy to a single building or entire neighborhood.
“You don’t want to lose power when you’re in charge of our national security,” Kabalan said. “We are one of the very few places where our partners can use the CMR’s state-of-the-art resources to design, prototype and test these technologies. The CMR is bridging the gap between the theory and the real world. We are proving that this stuff works.”
Beyond serving as a stable power source, microgrids are expected to play a leading role in the United States’ clean energy transition. Localization of an energy grid improves efficiency, cutting down on energy use and costs. Microgrids also incorporate renewable energy sources with greater flexibility.
That clean energy potential has attracted government support far and wide. Lawmakers at the Minnesota Capitol hope St. Thomas engineers can help meet the state’s goal of producing 100% clean electricity by 2040. And it’s what motivated U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, who represents Minnesota’s Fourth Congressional District, to connect St. Thomas with the Defense Department in Washington, D.C.
The great connector
“I thought this was a real opportunity to take my work on climate change to a new level,” McCollum said. “This is research that is going to impact people’s lives, not just at the Department of Defense and for our national security, but it impacts our economic security and, at times of great peril, our personal security.”
McCollum, who served as the chair of the U.S. House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee from 2021-23 and is now the ranking member, first encouraged St. Thomas to apply for the opportunity to work side by side with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Her relationships with the Department of Defense and Under Secretary for Research proved pivotal to bringing significant dollars back to St. Paul.
But McCollum’s championing of St. Thomas energy innovation hardly stopped with the Center for Microgrid Research. Her efforts also helped secure $6 million to establish the St. Thomas Applied Renewable Technologies (START) Center, which is now guiding emerging companies to develop clean energy technology alongside the university’s students and faculty.
“The part of my job that makes me the proudest – when St. Thomas came to us and explained what they were working on, it became my job to make that connection with the federal government,” McCollum said. “It’s great to see that people are waking up and paying attention to the innovation, the creativity and the seriousness in which these young engineers and their professors are taking on the challenges of today.”
Growing support for Tommie solutions
St. Thomas innovation is increasingly attracting government support across its schools and colleges. From an immersive data visualization studio to a high-speed wind tunnel, more than $40 million – direct from the university’s government partners – is now working to spur research opportunities, expand courses and fund world-class equipment.
Recent awards showcase the vast and varied partnerships:
- A nearly $1 million grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services will train students at the Morrison Family College of Health to serve on the front lines of the opioid crisis.
- $1.1 million in federal funding for the School of Education and Dougherty Family College will work to increase the number of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers, particularly teachers of color.
- $3 million in federal grants will support an improved Center for Advanced Manufacturing at the School of Engineering, including a new large-scale 3D metal printing center.
“The government is making an investment in St. Thomas by providing these grants and dollars, but they’re also looking for a return on their investment,” said Mark Zesbaugh ’86, member of the St. Thomas Board of Trustees. “I think the reason why St. Thomas has been so successful in securing these funds is we’ve put forth a very compelling value proposition.”
Return on investment
The expansion at the Center for Microgrid Research is proving to be a boon for St. Thomas and its partner organizations. Faculty and students regularly host and evaluate products from energy start-up companies like NeoCharge and Clean Energy Economy Minnesota. They also work on grid modeling with the National Science Foundation and offer workforce development and education.
“When we talk about our mission at St. Thomas to transition from a small liberal arts college to a comprehensive, nationally known Catholic institution, the work at the Center for Microgrid Research is at the forefront of that journey,” St. Thomas President Rob Vischer said. “To earn the reputation that we aspire to, we must entrust and enable our talented faculty and students to work with the broader community on the most pressing problems that affect our lives and our societies.”
The return on investment at CMR could take decades to measure. But St. Thomas students will undoubtedly be its biggest benefactor.
“It’s an unrivaled education experience with unrivaled access,” Kabalan said. “So often, we learn about something in the textbook, and then we head into the basement, go right to that new device and see how it actually works.”
When the CMR’s newest multimillion-dollar facility comes online it will offer a host of expanded real-world opportunities. Students will run tests in the new high-voltage test bay, welcome electric vehicles into the roll-in test bays, and carefully experiment with the grid’s 1-megawatt capacity, enough power to light up hundreds of homes.
They will leave St. Thomas as budding engineers the industry desperately wants to hire.
As master’s student Loree wraps up her final year at St. Thomas, she’s excited to watch her work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers come to life. Her designs for the second microgrid’s controllers could prove invaluable to what the Army will accomplish at the Center for Microgrid Research.
“St. Thomas has given me the technical skills, but also the ability to lead in the field and truly approach each open-ended question with creativity and innovation.”
Whether it’s at St. Thomas or beyond, this Tommie electrical engineer is ready to make a difference, one grid at a time.
