Who knew that a flag flapping in the breeze could generate energy? Professors Rajat Mittal and Sung Hoon Kang did! They worked with postdoctoral researchers Santiago Orrego and Koroush Shoele and undergraduate researchers Andre Ruas ’18, Kyle Doran ’18, and Brett Caggiano ’18.

They studied wind energy harvesting by creating a novel piezoelectric flag orientation with enhanced energy harvesting capability. In other words, their device merely flapping in the breeze generates electricity that promotes the idea of self-powered devices with available ambient wind energy. The device is pictured here mounted on the roof of Garland Hall where the team tested it.

Their work was published in Applied Energy, a top-10 peer-reviewed energy journal.

  • Read more about their work here.
  • View the device in action here.