<p>Hey! I am entering my senior year in high school and I am currently in the process of making a list of schools I can apply to. I am really interested in an engineering program with a focus in solar/wind. I would appreciate any responses as I am still unsure just exactly what I'd like to study. Thanks for the help.</p>
<p>That is probably mechanical, as it is very broad and covers energy and some aerospace topics like wind if you choose your classes right. May even be some civil classes too. My college (UCD) even offers minors dedicated to sustainable energy.</p>
<p>Yes, it is mainly mechanical engineering. However, electrical engineering also is an option as they work in the same area. What part of solar/wind energy interest you?</p>
<p>I’ve taken classes in batteries and solar power, and materials science was a big part of each of them.</p>
<p>I also had a neighbor with a degree in Materials Science and he was working at a solar power company. (Until it went out of business.)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.engineering.iastate.edu/eri/initiatives/signature-areas/energy-sciences-and-technology/[/url]”>http://www.engineering.iastate.edu/eri/initiatives/signature-areas/energy-sciences-and-technology/</a></p>
<p>Also,the US Dept. of Energy has a national laboratory at Ames, IA and is affiliated with the university. Looks like every dept in the COE there has energy projects.</p>
<p>Thanks for your responses and I apologize for my late reply! </p>
<p>niklas, what university is UCD? I’m not familiar with it and used Google and a few came out. I will certainly take a look into that university although I would prefer to major in it but that is definitely a start! </p>
<p>ele902, I am interested in working with companies that build and change structures to better our environment. This green-industry seems to be very popular and it benefits our environment! Does my description still fit mechanical engineering? (This questions goes to everyone in general haha)</p>
<p>simba9, do you know what college your neighbor attended? The Materials Science degree sounds interesting.</p>
<p>Gavianna, thanks for the link! You just gave me one more college to look at! :)</p>
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<p>He got his Masters in Materials Science from the University of Vermont. His Bachelors was either Physics or Chemistry from St. Bonaventure.</p>
<p>I would imagine UCD is University of California, Davis.</p>
<p>Hi aa1001,</p>
<p>What do you mean change structure? Are you talking environmentally friendly building designs? That’s civil engineering.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat. I want to work in the solar industry, maybe wind. I visited a bunch of colleges last spring, Carnegie Mellon University, MIT, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, Tufts, University of Pennsylvania, Harvard, etc. Projecting my future, (I know it’s early, but it’s good to have a vision) I’ll double major or major/minor in Chemical Engineering and Economics. Then I will probably pursue and MBA. Chemical engineering, from what I heard from my college visits, is the best to open up different career paths. You can go into nano-technology, solar, wind, climate sciences, etc.
Carnegie Mellon has a double major program with the school of engineering and the school of public policy which is really interesting. As of now, my first choice is CMU.</p>
<p>Basically any of mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, civil engineering and materials engineering could get you into a career working with wind turbines or solar energy. It just depends on which of the two you end up preferring and what part of the system you want to work on.</p>
<p>boneh3ad, is it possible for someone with a computer engineering degree to work with wind turbines or solar energy?</p>
<p>Pprobably but it would be a fairly small role as opposed to tr mechanical design of the whole thing or electrical design of the generator. I’m sure there is computer control hardware somewhere in the system.</p>
<p>There’s a lot more to alternative energy than wind and solar. The whole “Smart Grid” thing is very computer-dependent.</p>
<p>I am really ecstatic over all the replies! Lol thanks so much! 
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<p>simba9, thank you for the university, added it to the list! If it is very computer dependent, what could be another degree that I could possibly pursue that would still get me into the eco friendly field? </p>
<p>ele902, yes, I believe that’s the main idea of what I want to do. I’ll need to research civil and compare it to solar and chemical. There are many different programs but are somewhat the same or am I somewhat wrong?</p>
<p>Ddster, woah! Amazing man! What grade are you in? & I will take a look at chemical engineering at Carnegie Mellon. Carnegie Mellon was a college I was going to look at. The double major program from there sounds like something I wanted to do. Ironically, I was also thinking of a minor in economics, but I will see down the road. Thanks for your very elaborate answer! </p>
<p>boneh3ad, I see your point! If I want to work in the system that creates eco friendly buildings as well as other structures, what type of engineering would be best to get me into that system?</p>