Description:
Southern Utah University is recruiting senior-level Computer Science students to support the DOE Hydropower Collegiate Competition (HCC) 2026-2027 in-conduit hydropower project. The project focuses on generating renewable energy from existing water conveyance systems by evaluating where a small turbine or energy-recovery unit could be placed in a pipeline, conduit, irrigation system, municipal water system, wastewater system, or similar infrastructure. The Computer Science student role will focus on the software, algorithm, dashboard, data workflow, and system-operation side of the project. Students will help define what data should be collected, how the data should be processed, how the system should be monitored, and how results should be displayed for students, faculty, clients, and reviewers. This Fall 2026 position is intended for students who will continue the same work as their Spring 2027 capstone. Selected students will receive scholarship-supported or paid project support during Fall 2026, conditioned on their commitment to continue the dashboard and software-development work as part of their Spring 2027 capstone.
Responsibilities:
- Review the DOE HCC rules.
- Learn the basic operation of an in-conduit hydropower system, including flow, pressure, head, turbine performance, power output, and system status.
- Work with the engineering team to identify the data needed to operate, monitor, and evaluate the system.
- Develop the initial algorithm structure for the dashboard and system-monitoring software.
- Define input data fields such as flow rate, pressure, head, turbine speed, power output, voltage, current, system efficiency, alarm status, test condition, and timestamp.
- Develop a sample or simulated dataset that can be used before real prototype data are available.
- Help design the dashboard interface for system operation, including screens or modules for live data display, performance trends, alerts, comparison of test runs, and summary reports.
- Recommend a suitable software approach or programming language, such as Python, JavaScript, React, Node.js, Flask, Django, SQL, MATLAB, or other approved tools, depending on project requirements and student expertise.
- Build a preliminary Fall 2026 dashboard concept that can be expanded into a complete Spring 2027 capstone product.
- Support the HCC design documentation by preparing screenshots, diagrams, data-flow charts, and software architecture explanations.
- Coordinate with Engineering Technology students so the dashboard matches the prototype design and instrumentation plan.
- Coordinate with Cybersecurity students to ensure the data workflow considers user access, data integrity, and secure handling of system data.
- Document code structure, assumptions, data inputs, limitations, and next steps for Spring 2027.
- Maintain organized files and provide weekly progress updates to the faculty mentor.
Qualifications:
- Must be a senior-level Computer Science student or closely related major.
- Must be planning to complete a capstone project in Spring 2027.
- Must be willing to continue the in-conduit hydropower dashboard/software work as the Spring 2027 capstone project.
- Must be available to work during Fall 2026.
- Must have experience or strong interest in programming, dashboards, databases, data visualization, algorithms, user interfaces, and applied software development.
- Experience with Python, JavaScript, React, Node.js, SQL, Flask, Django, MATLAB, or dashboard-development tools is preferred.
- Must be able to work with engineering students and translate technical system needs into software requirements.
- Must have strong organization, documentation, communication, and teamwork skills.
- Interest in renewable energy, water infrastructure, sensor data, AI-assisted analysis, and real-world engineering software is preferred.