UD Story
Fiona Martin double majored in mechanical engineering and music with a minor in German at the University of
Dayton. In January, she enrolled in the first class of UD's new, groundbreaking program in clean and renewable energy.
As a master's degree student, she will lead the University of Dayton's Building Energy Center (BEC), where she will work with undergraduate students in conducting energy audits for residential and low-income housing as well as for community organizations. They will recommend and prioritize energy-saving opportunities.
Energy efficiency first sparked Martin's interest while working for a small energy firm in Emden, Germany, during the summer of 2007. She learned about solar and wind technologies and how they can supply sufficient energy and help the environment. After a summer of learning and traveling, she came back to UD impassioned and eager to learn more. Through taking Kelly Kissock's energy classes, devoting her own energy to senior design projects and working with one of the country's top energy firms (Sieben Energy Associates in Chicago), she has developed her interests and hopes to use her experiences to aid the Dayton community while learning more about renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The Story - Energy efficiency was something that really sparked my interest, (the fact that) that I could apply all those things that I had learned in undergrad to (do) something that would really help our society as a whole.
My name is Fiona Martin, and I'm working on my master's degree in clean and renewable energy.
When I was an undergrad, I went to Germany for the summer, and I got to work for a company that worked specifically with wind and solar power. My experiences in Germany brought me back two years ago with this ignited passion for energy efficiency. That was when talk first started about this new master's program. It's really exciting because there is no other school in the nation that has a program like this. I happened to be at the right place at the right time. I had just learned about all this energy efficiency, and I was excited about it (at the same time University administrators) were working on the program. I said, "Okay, sure, I'll jump in." I think renewable is the future because no matter what we do, we are going to run out of the fuel sources we are currently using. We have to learn how to utilize wind and solar and wave technology to the best of our ability to be able to have a more sustainable future for the world itself.
When I graduate, I will be working for Sieben Energy Associates in downtown Chicago. I'll be working with commercial building (applications) and the LEED (green building) rating system. Renewable energies are great, but the technology still isn't there. The efficiencies need to improve; they are very expensive still, so right now the best thing people can do is make their buildings (and) their homes more energy-efficient.
I think education is really the key right now for our society — to be able to switch over and to understand how to be more sustainable (and) how to be more energy-efficient because it will really affect us as a whole, save us money, save us energy, help save our planet.
I think that in 10 years I would like to be a professor somewhere teaching, maybe owning my own company. I don't know if it would be commercial applications or residential, but in either field there is still a lot to be done. Being able to share what I have learned and help people really make a difference, I think, is where I would be most happy.
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