University of Utah electrical and computer engineering senior Jacob Collins was awarded the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Power and Energy Society John W. Estey Outstanding Scholar Award.
One of only six recipients in the U.S. and Canada, Collins receives $5,000 for school expenses such as textbooks and student fees, 12 months of membership to the IEEE and up to $1,000 in travel money to attend the IEEE PES General Meeting.
Collins was chosen by industry and academic representatives who reviewed applicants and selected the top PES Scholars from six regions. He was chosen based on academic preparation, extra-curricular activities and leadership, interest in engineering in general and power and energy engineering in particular, technical quality of their application, and overall assessment of the student’s potential for a successful power and energy engineering career.
While working on his degree Collins is already finding success. Collins is involved with Utah Smart Energy Laboratory where they are pushing electrical and computer engineering into the future as they design the next generation of resilient and sustainable power and energy systems that integrate emerging energy technologies and distributed energy resources.
On top of both of those Collins is a student engineer at Rocky Mountain Power. A previous student involved in the same program stated, “I don’t just want to save an individual life. I want to save an entire society and make an impact that will last for generations.”
Along with his current work, Collins is a U.S. Navy veteran and student in Naval Reserve Officers Training Coro at the University of Utah.
Collins operated nuclear reactors for the Navy and even taught nuclear power plant operation at the Nuclear Power Training Unit in Charleston, S.C.
Collins was presented with this award and recognized for his outstanding work, success and potential at the U-Smart Lab Power and Energy Career Expo in front of recruiters from some of the best companies in power and energy from all over the nation.