This book examines essential topics related to energy, sustainability, carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, coastal protection, and energy security. It features specialized lectures that explore various interdisciplinary aspects of sustainability and environmental resilience. It begins with an introduction to the fundamental concepts of energy and energy conversion, followed by a detailed discussion of solar and wind energy technologies, as well as the application of artificial intelligence for quantifying energy resources. In subsequent chapters, the book addresses a variety of critical subjects, including socioeconomic equality, the significant changes occurring in Puerto Rico that create new opportunities, water conservation, and the development of an energy-water corridor to promote sustainable economic growth. It also covers the physics of climate, climate change, and sustainable agriculture practices.

Readers of the book will become familiar not only with the fundamental topics of energy and renewable energy but also with challenging topics that will impact the energy security and coastal resilience of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Caribbean Islands.

Autorentext

Prof. Luciano Castillo is the Kenninger Professor of Renewable Energy and Power Systems at Purdue University's School of Mechanical Engineering.

Dr. Gerardo Carbajal is an Associate Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Florida Polytechnic University.

Dr. Victor M. Castaño is the Coordinator of Prospective and Strategic Projects at the Office of the Rector at the National University of Mexico (UNAM).

Dr. Arquimedes (Archie) Ruiz-Columbie has been a Senior Lecturer in the Renewable Energy Program at Texas Tech University for over 10 years.

Dr. Umberto Ciri is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez.

Jhon Quiñones is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Delft University of Technology.

Prof. Dr. Carlos Rudamas is a Professor of Physics in the Optical Spectroscopy Laboratory at the School of Physics, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of El Salvador.

Dr. Miguel Velez-Rubio is the Chancellor of the University of Puerto Rico at Bayamón and a Professor in the Computer Sciences Department.

Inhalt

Introduction: Socioeconomic Equality through Clean Energy Access.- Seismic Changes in Puerto Rico Harbor a Great Opportunity.- Water Preservation: The Other Major Benefit of Renewable Energy.- What If We Build an Energy-Water Corridor for Sustainable Manufacturing at the USA-Mexico Border?.- Sustainability: Energy Balance and Efficiency.- Applications of Energy Conversion for Renewable Energy.- Fuel Cells & Hydrogen for Future Energy Security.- Fundamentals of Wind Energy.- The Physics of Climate and Climate Change.- The Nine Planetary Boundaries.- Earth's Natural Resources.- From Hydropower to Renewable Energy Diversity.- Witnessing Global Warming.- A Summary of Renewable Energy Sources in the US.- AI & Renewable Energy.- Introduction to Artificial Intelligence for Renewable Energy Systems.- AI for Resource Assessment and Forecasting.- AI for System Design, Control, and Optimization.- AI for Grid Integration, Demand Management, and Storage.- Industry 4.0/ Industry 5.0.- Sustainable Agriculture.- Laws and Equations That Every Scientist Should Know.- The Golden Mean in Science.- Biomimetics: From Nature to Aerospace Exploration.- Ethics and Bioethics Research.- Optical Spectroscopy for Environmental Applications.- Quantum Dots from Algae. Preparation and Characterization.- Building Future Engineers: Students Engagement with the Engineering Design Process.- Assessing Puerto Rico's Renewable Energy Potential: Wind, Solar, Salinity and OTEC.- Modelling of CO2 sequestration by Systems Modeller.- Sargassum: From Coastal Crisis to Clean Energy - Harnessing Nature for Resilience and Sustainability.- CO2 Capture Underwater and the Potential of Alternative Concretes for Enhancing Corals Restoration and Coastal Protection: A Comparative Study.- Quantifying Spatial and Temporal Variability of Seawater Dissolved Oxygen at Two Contrasting Seagrass Meadows.- Decarbonizing US Naval Operations and Maritime Transport by Developing Net-Zero-Carbon Sustainable Marine Fuels.- Framework for Estimation of CO2 Sequestration from Sargassum Using.- Remote Sensing and Neural Networks.- Sustainable Aviation Fuel from Sargassum.- Quantification of Offshore and Onshore Sargassum for Effective Harvesting.- Economic Analysis of Harvesting and Preprocessing of Sargassum in Eastern Puerto Rico.- Polluted-air direct capture using a CO2 liquid filter.- Women in STEM: Challenges & Opportunities.- Designing Policies for Scaling up CO2 Sequestration Globally: Lessons from Puerto Rico's Approach.- Climate Change, Migration, and Gender: Addressing Bias in STEM and Advancing Equity through Innovation and Education. Sustainable Building Envelope.- Bridging Environmental, Social, and Economic Resilience: A Holistic Approach to Address Climate Change - Summer Institute for Sustainability and Climate Change.- Photovoltaic Applications of Graphene Quantum Dots.- Optical Properties of Sulfur-Iron Graphene Quantum Dots for Photovoltaic Applications.- Carbon Nanostructure-based LED Prototypes for Sustainable Energy Applications.- Numerical Study of the Hydrodynamics of Mangrove-Inspired Structures for Coastal Protection.- RANS-LES Validation of Winglet Impact on Optimized Wind Turbine Wake Behavior.- A Passive Cooling Process for Heat Generation in Medium-Range Wind Turbines.- Numerical Analysis on Li-Ion Battery Pack Cooling Using Heat Pipes.- The National Green Engine- An Ecosystem for Resiliency and Economic Development in the Caribbean.