UND is among a group of universities, utility companies and national laboratories that have received federal funding to enhance the security of the nation’s electrical power grid.
The award comes from the U.S. Department of Energy and will be used by UND researchers to develop algorithms for a cybersecurity software tool to help distributed energy resources, aka DERS, securely participate in wholesale energy markets. DERs include solar and wind power generation methods, as well as other devices such as electric vehicle chargers. These devices, which are usually connected to the internet, require additional cybersecurity measures as they are increasingly added to power grids across the country.
In total, the DOE has awarded $39 million for nine projects that advance the cybersecurity of DERs. Each project is attached to a National Laboratory, which will work with a specific group of research universities, utility providers and other industry partners.
The cybersecurity project in which UND is participating is attached to the Illinois-based Argonne National Laboratory. In addition to UND, the other research participants are Iowa State University, Kevala (a data analytics company working with electrical grid operators) and ComED (a utility provider serving more than 4 million customers in northern Illinois). The research group has been awarded nearly $3.5 million for the project, with UND’s portion of the grant being $517,000.
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Five officers from the Colombian Air Force recently completed a two-week mission within the UND Aerospace Integrated Lunar/Mars Analog Habitat.
The group spent 13 days in the habitat… simulating a mission on Mars and conducting research from within, while a sixth member supported the group from the ground.
Members of the group remarked that this was their first time seeing snow.
The group researched various topics within the habitat to gather more than a thousand pieces of data. The plan is to use take this data back to Colombia for further analysis.
Looking ahead… the habitat will continue to support experimenters from not only the U-S, but also around the world, in preparation for long duration spaceflight. The facility plans to host at least four simulated missions in 2024.
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Altru Health System appointed Retired Col. Timothy Curry to join the non-profit’s board of directors in October 2023.
Curry currently works for the engineering firm KBR, as the North Dakota site lead for hypersonic testing and capabilities development. He leads, guides and develops a growing team of test professionals. He retired from the United States Air Force after serving two years as Commander of the 319th Reconnaissance Wing at Grand Forks Air Force Base where he led more than 5,000 airmen, contractors and dependents stationed in Grand Forks and across the world.
“We are delighted to welcome Timothy to Altru’s board of directors,” said Karen McLennan, Altru’s board chair. “The Grand Forks Air Force Base is home to so many of our best and brightest community members. Timothy’s presence on our board will strengthen our connection with the air base and veterans in our region.”
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For the 4th year in a row, Target has announced that it will be closed on Thanksgiving Day. In a letter to employees, Target Chairman and CEO Bob Cornell said that staying closed during the holiday in 2020 let them keep employees safe. But, he says, once he heard from staff members about how much they appreciated the time off, it was an easy decision to make the policy permanent. Although they’re all planning big Black Friday sales, other retailers who’ll be joining Target in closing on Thanksgiving include J.C. Penney, Best Buy, Kohl’s, Walmart and Macy’s.
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The Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks baseball team has hired Bob Roers as the team’s Director of Business Development. Roers has served as the RedHawks’ public address announcer the past nine seasons and now moves into a full-time role in the team’s front office. He will also remain the public address announcer for all RedHawks home games.