EliteGeek

I don't know what a major would be good for a job in developing new alternative energy, such as wind, solar, electric opposed to fossil fuels, etc. Which engineering major should I choose?

Techy233

It truly depends on what kind of alternative energy you want to get into.

boneh3ad

Agreed, but I would start with mechanical and chemical as being the two most likely routes. Materials science, aerospace engineering and electrical engineering would potentially have niche areas in alternative energy as well, though it would be fairly minor.

Of course, I could also state the obvious... NUCLEAR ENGINEERING!

purduefrank

If you would like to get into alternative fuel sources such as ethanol and other replacements then your best bet is in ChemE. There is a lot of research being done using different organic materials and turning them into fuel – while also trying not to deplete human food sources in the process.

ME and EE both play a role in developing new wind turbines, etc.

Most of the research done in battery technology for use in electric cars, etc., takes place in Materials Science/Engineering.

However, like most cutting edge research and development there is a great deal of interdependence among engineering disciplines. Also, if you really want to work on developing these new technologies you’re almost certainly going to have to wait until grad school – except for possibly some low-level research assistant stuff in undergrad.

Another thing to keep in mind is where you go to school. Find out who is doing a lot of research in your area of interest before you choose a school. Even at large research institutions there are usually only a few professors who are really making headway in these areas - and knowing what you want to get into ahead of time is key unless you’re just interested in any of it, in which case you can probably find a professor or two at any university covering some aspect related to alternative energy.

EliteGeek

What "kind" of alternative energy are there? I am just starting these admissions and just thought that alternative energy would be fun to get into so I really don't know which majors are good for different kinds of alternative energy.

G.P.Burdell

Even once you decide on the type of alternative energy, you'll still have different engineers performing different tasks related to that energy. For example, if you decide to focus on electric cars, you'll have chemical engineers designing the battery, electrical engineers designing the electrical systems, mechanical engineers designing the engine, etc.

EliteGeek

So for things like increasing efficiency for solar panels, higher density batteries, etc. chemical engineering would be ideal?

I'm planning on applying to University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and the list for majors include Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Is that a good major to start off in?

Also on the list is Engineering Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering; what's the difference? The list is here U of I Admissions: Programs by Interest

boneh3ad

Engineering Mechanics is a much more theoretical program than Mechanical Engineering. There will be less of a focus on design and more of a focus on the... well... mechanics. I think something like 3/4 of the people in the EM program go onto grad school. It might even be more. It is what used to be called Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at UIUC.

Also, I might be completely off base on this, but I would think that increasing solar panel efficiency would be more of a Materials Science thing than ChemE, though the two fields are related so there could be some overlap.

nshah9617

I'd suggest Mechanical or Chemical. That way you have options in hybrids, thermal, biofuels, renewable fuels and nuclear.

Engineering Mechanics is usually a graduate specialty but focuses on stress/strain and continuum mechanics--think of is as a focus on the mechanic of materials courses.

kaoandres

I would say every field contributes something to energy since it's one of the bases in all engineering. In ChemE, you could work on biofuels or make your process less likely to lose energy in the form of heat and increase efficiency. In materials science, you could find a way to synthesize energy efficient materials. I don't know much about other majors.

Treetopleaf

See if you can learn about the alt. energy projects going on at the grad level at UIUC and find out what the grad students majored in.

GoOakland

"Of course, I could also state the obvious... NUCLEAR ENGINEERING! "

YEAH BABY!

boneh3ad

Haha, yeah Oakland, people tend to overlook that since everyone is so hellbent on wind/water/solar/biofuels. People tend to forget nuclear. I almost went into Nuclear Engineering so that I could then specialize in plasma engineering and go try and solve fusion.

EliteGeek

Thanks for all your replies. After reading over the description for materials science and engineering, it seems like that's something I'd be interested in, but is it hard to get accepted in UIUC for engineering? Is it really competitive?

Techy233

Yes it is, but not terribly so.