The Center for Clean Energy Research and Education is collaborating with students and faculty to sponsor its first public research-sharing event on renewable energy.

Students and faculty plan to present their research on a variety of topics including the biomass burning process, the effect of the green movement on schools, green architecture and the potential of corn as a biomass fuel.

Richard Jones, an assistant professor of communication studies, said the event can help start a dialogue among students, faculty, staff and community members about how to create opportunities for collaboration, teaching, learning and research related to renewable energy on campus.

“This event highlights some of the ways that we can move beyond typical assignments that are confined in the four walls of a classroom and make connections to other areas of study and social and political issues,” Jones said.

The event, “Integrative Learning and Renewable Energy: Student and Faculty Presentations in Collaboration with the Center for Clean Energy Research and Education,” is at 6 p.m. today in the Arcola-Tuscola Room in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Jones said he organized the event with the help of others in collaboration with CENCERE, and students from his Introduction to Speech Communication Honors class also became involved with the event.

“Since the Renewable Energy Center was scheduled to open in October, I thought this would be a good chance to have students learn about this new, cutting edge facility on our campus,” he said.

His students were assigned to make an informative speech about renewable energy that related to the Renewable Energy Center, and several of his students will present during the event.

“I also invited some of the faculty and staff involved with the Renewable Energy Center to come to my class for a panel discussion and collaborated with the library to have them share some of the new research materials they have acquired to help CENCERE,” Jones said.

The Renewable Energy Center is a showpiece for the university and can help raise Eastern’s profile and reputation in and beyond the region, and knowing more about it can benefit students and faculty, he said.

“Renewable energy in general is also a pressing political and environmental issue that factors into many policy decisions and is directly tied to our quality of life now and in the future,” Jones said. “Knowing more about this can definitely raise our consciousness about the energy we use and how we use it.”

Rachel Rodgers can be reached at 581-2812 or rjrodgers@eiu.edu.